


Rewind: Patching the Past One Ash at a Time

by xama



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Arceus is a nice Pokemon, Arora-chichou | Alola, Ash's not-so-absentee dad, BAMF Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Comedy, Crack, Cute Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, F/M, Gen, Humor, I'm not gonna tag anymore characters unless they become part of Ash's Possey, Kanto-chihou | Kanto, M/M, Team Galactic is Not Involved, Time Travel, With A Twist, or are otherwise relevant enough to be tagged, yet another Pokemon Peggy-Sue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2020-10-12 23:50:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 50,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20572979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xama/pseuds/xama
Summary: Ash Ketchum - Arceus' Chosen One - has finally had the true meaning of his title revealed: go back in time so that the past may be changed. He and his friends must go back in time... to do whatever they want to do with their lives, nothing more and nothing less.Ash, no matter what, is determined to do the right thing, to bring Pikachu along, and, most importantly, to drag as many people with him as possible. Because isn't that what friends are for?-Not your average Pokemon Peggy-Sue - Team Galactic aren't the bid bads; Ash doesn't have a sword of Damocles hanging over his head; his main goal is still to be the very best, like no one ever was. To catch them is still his real quest, and to train them, naturally, his cause.





	1. PokePatch Ash.1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Ashes of the Past](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/115621) by Saphroneth. 

The audience watched with bated breath as Ash’s Pikachu struck down the Masked Royal’s final Pokemon, his Incineroar. Then they went wild - and Ash sank to his knees. He’d done it. When he won the final battle of the Manalo conference it hadn’t quite sunk in - intellectually, he'd known he'd won, but it wasn’t until this final display battle that he really _ knew _ it.

Ash got back on his feet as the Masked Royal walked up to him and stuck out his hand, grinning. Ash took it with an even bigger grin on his face, saying “That was a really tough battle!”

“Haha, thanks! You did really well, yeah - definitely earned your title. I’m proud of you.”

Ash was touched - he’d only battled with the Masked Royal a handful of times, but it meant a lot. Actually, it always meant a lot - a lot of people had been saying they were proud of Ash lately. Maybe that came with actually going to school for a bit and gaining some book knowledge to go with all his practical knowledge.

“So I have to ask, what are you planning on doing now that you’ve won?”

Ash blinked, picking up Pikachu who’d wandered over. “Honestly? I don’t know.” Ash and the Royal started walking inside and away from the crowd.

“The Grand Champion’s seat is yours, you know, if you want it.”

Ash blinked again. “Grand Champion? That’s… a lot of responsibility. I’d be Alola’s first, right?”

“That’s right, yeah. I guess it’s an honor and a burden, but if you don’t take it Kahuna Nanu would probably be willing to take the role until the next League Conference, so don’t worry about it.”

“Well… I’ll think about it.”

“Pika-pi, pika pika…”

“Hey! I can think! Well, sometimes!”

Pikachu licked Ash’s cheek placatingly.

Ash turned to the Masked Royal suddenly, “Oh, are you coming to the party?”

The Masked Royal looked startled, “How did you - I mean, what party?”

“Well," Ash said, scratching his head, "I just won the Manalo Conference…”

“Haha, right, yeah. Well, I uh, I’ll be there Ash, just not the way you might expect, yeah.”

“Oh” Ash said, “you mean you’ll be there as Professor Kukui?”

“Yeah I - wait.”

“Pikachu told me.”

“Pika!”

“...And Torracat - well, I guess Incineroar now - told him, but apparently he already knew?”

The Masked Kukui shrugged, “Fair enough, I was planning on telling you at some point anyway. How did they figure it out? I use a different cologne when I'm the Masked Royal.”

“I don’t know about Incineroar, maybe you wore your Masked Royal scent around him accidentally? But for Pikachu, everyone has a different electric signature.”

“Pika.”

“Right, electromagnetic signature.”

“...Ash, do you know what Pokemon Pikachu’s parents were by any chance?”

“Nope! Buddy?”

“Chu, pika chu.” Pikachu replied.

“He says one was a Pikachu!”

“Yes… and the other?”

Ash shrugged, “Apparently that’s classified.”

Kukui twitched.

“Actually that’s the same thing my dad tells me when I ask him why he never visits me and my mom anymore, huh.”

“Did you… run into him on one of your Journeys?” Kukui asked, semi-delicately, not sure if this was a sore spot or not.

“What? Oh, no, we exchange emails! He sends me one every month, though since I came to Alola we’ve been exchanging emails twice a week! Sometimes more!”

Kukui shrugged, chuckling a little. While he and Burnet considered Ash to be part of their family, and knew he returned the sentiment, he’d never pried into Ash’s home life. He figured Ash’s dad wasn’t around - honestly, hearing that the guy was at least proactive in staying in contact with his son raised Kukui’s estimate of him. Probably had his reasons - who knows, maybe he joined a criminal organization and wanted to keep his family away from that kind of life.

“Maybe dad’s the Champion of some region I haven’t been to yet and wants to surprise me when I get there…” Ash guessed, stroking his chin.

That was possible too, Kukui thought - not very plausible, but then again, Ash looked around 12 (barely 12, if Kukui was being honest) but was apparently 17, had a Pikachu who could go head-to-head with Legendaries, and apparently grew up with _ the _ Pokemon Professor as a surrogate grandfather, so Ash and Pikachu were the only ones qualified to say what was or wasn’t plausible in their lives.

“Okay, I’ll heal up my Pokemon and go change - then I’ll meet you outside, and I’ll be able to be really emotional over how proud I am of you, yeah?”

Ash's eyes widened and he nodded rapidly. “Uh… yeah! Sounds good!”

“Yeah! See you in a minute, Ash. Oh - don’t mention that you know about the party, yeah? Your mother specifically wanted it to be a surprise that -” Kukui paused as he saw Ash double-take “-right, you didn’t know the specifics of the party. I’m going to go get changed now, yeah.”

Ash smiled to himself as Nurse Joy and Chansey took his Pokemon - including Pikachu - into a back room to heal them. Champion - League Champion, at least… He’d really have to think about becoming Grand Champion, that was... That was a lot. Honestly, the duties weren’t that different from what he already did, aside from the addition of a lot of paperwork and an official mandate… The biggest change would be his Pokemon Journey effectively being over. He could go to different regions, definitely, investigate things, visit friends, spectate League conferences, accidentally get embroiled in Legendary catastrophes... But he wouldn’t be able to do Gym challenges anymore, and he’d have to have his visits to other regions be short. He’d be stuck in Alola - which wasn’t a bad thing at all. Alola - honestly, it seemed like a region meant for him. But he was still young, not quite ready to settle down (sometimes, Ash wondered if he’d ever be ready to settle down), and he wasn’t a Pokemon Master yet… Well, he didn’t consider himself to be a Pokemon Master, at least. Gary had called him that the last few times they’d talked - which was often now that Ash had more consistent access to phones. Maybe he should buy a cellphone.

His thoughts were interrupted by Nurse Joy returning his Pokemon to him - after thanking her, he and Pikachu made their way outside to wait for Kukui.

Suddenly the world stilled - Ash and Pikachu looked around for a Celebi, or possibly Dialga.

|That last one is close, but not quite a cigar.|

Ash looked up, a direction in which he had already looked, and saw Arceus hovering. “...should I kneel?”

|Are your legs tired?|

“Not really, which is kinda surprising since I’ve been standing for hours - thanks for asking!”

|The pleasure is all mine.| Replied Arceus, who seemed amused by something. |But, my Chosen One, pleasantries aside, I have need of you.|

Ash straightened up, and Pikachu instantly went alert. “Right! Right. Okay, my Pokemon are a bit tired, but they’re all healed up - and hey, give me a bat or a sword and I’ll fight with them! We’re as ready as we’ll ever be!”

“Pika-pika! Pikachu!”

|...what?|

Ash looked a little confused, “What what? You said you had need of us-”

“Pika-pi...”

“Of _ us _, so what’s the confusion? We’ve helped Legendaries before - apparently fulfilling all those Chosen One prophecies, we’re ready!”

|Yes, I know you’ve helped Legendaries before - I was one of them, after-all. But tell me, what do you think your duty is, as _ my _Chosen One?|

“...to… fix world-ending problems? I just… always end up fighting people that want to take over or destroy the world, or Legendary Pokemon who are duking it out and need to be snapped out of it, and all of them always tell me at some point that I’m the Chosen One.”

Arceus nodded in comprehension, |Right, right. I see the issue now. You are my Chosen One - the one who I chose after meeting you at Michina.|

“...wait, this wasn’t a ‘since birth, fated to serve you’ type thing?”

|Technically it was a ‘before your birth, fated to serve me’ type thing.| Arceus snarked.

“...right. Well, you chose me when you met me, that’s… good to know! Yeah!” Ash was genuinely happy to hear that. “So it wasn’t by chance, it was because you knew me? That’s - I’m honored, Arceus!”

Arceus smiled, |The honor is all mine, Chosen One. Now, the reason I chose you was because I saw you had great compassion, great honor, and great comrades - that is to say, great Pokemon.|

“Wow, thanks-”

|And also because I saw that you had time travelled from the distant future, had contact with time travel even before that, and have this innate ability to find disasters and problems.|

“Er, right… Wait, are you saying that I run into all that danger because of who I am, not because I’m the Chosen One??”

|Essentially, yes. Although one could argue that you are my Chosen One because of who you are.|

Pikachu started making coughing sounds that sounded suspiciously like laughter. “Ka-ka-ka-ka…”

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up buddy, you attract danger too, you know.”

“Pi?” Pikachu asked incredulously.

Suddenly there was a large crash, “PREPARE FOR TROUBLE!”

“AND MAKE IT DOUBLE!”

|Who are you people and how did you get into my time bubble???|

“-TO PROTECT THE WORLD FROM DEVASTATION!”

“Wait, when did you guys go back to the old motto?”

“Twerp, we are TRYING to finish!" Jessie said, sounding put-upon.

|Excuse me, we were having a very important discussion.** I would appreciate it if you would wait until it was over.**|

“And who’re you ta - oh. Uh, Jessie, James, we may have a problem here…”

“What - oh. James, is that... Arceus?”

|Yes, I am Arceus.** You may kneel.**|

The three main Rockets knelt, while Wobuffet saluted and wobbled.

“Oh great an’ merciful Arceus-” Meowth began.

“Please don’t smite us! My hair is too fabulous to die! I mean, my hair is too fabulous for me to die - and I have Pokemon to take care of!”

“James, shut up!” Jessie hissed.

|Chosen One, do you know how these hooligans broke into my time bubble?|

Ash shrugged, “No clue.”

|Pikachu?|

The rodent shook his head.

|Very well. You three… ah, I know.| Arceus sent out a pulse of mental energy and Celebi materialized. |Make sure that when these three come to Alola, they garner the interest of a Bewear.|

Jessie and James’ eyes bulged, and Meowth’s jaw hit the ground, which wasn’t hard because he’d gone from kneeling to bowing as Arceus 'spoke'.

“Wait, are you saying that ARCEUS is the reason that that Bewear-” Jessie began, before being cut off by the Original Pokemon himself.

|**Accept your punishment.**| Arceus intoned, and promptly summoned the Bewear in question.

“Wear! Bewear!” The large bear said, then picked up the Rockets and left.

|Hm. Well, that was odd.|

“Less so than encounters with them usually are.” Said Pikachu, who immediately looked surprised. “Did I just-”

|Oh right, yes that happens around me sometimes. If it doesn’t wear off in a week contact your local Legendary. Anyway, Ash, as my Chosen One your job is to get sent back in time into your younger body so I can use you to - as humans and Porygon say - patch the universe. Although in this case I suppose it would be to ‘Ash’ the universe.|

“...well, I guess this isn’t the weirdest thing that’s happened to me.. I’m not… going to be turned into a Pokemon, right?”

|Do you want to be? If so, it is no trouble.| As Arceus said this, he turned Ash into a Lucario.

“... No it’s fine, I like being a human!”

|As you wish.| Arceus turned Ash back. |Although now that I think about it, a dual Fighting-Ghost type would probably be best for you, or possibly Fairy-Fighting - Legendary for sure. If you ever change your mind I’ll have something prepared.|

Ash was rendered momentarily speechless, but Arceus seemed fine with waiting. It was probably this time bubble thing. “Okay” Ash said after he’d recovered, “so you want to send me back in time, to my younger body, to fix things?”

|Not quite - more that because you traveled back in time thousands of years and because you know and have connected with so many influential humans and Pokemon, you are the perfect choice to send back. You see, through sending you back I can affect other changes - changes that you do not have to be directly involved in. You are the vehicle for the patch, truly, but you do not have to do anything you do not want to. I do not mean the title of Chosen One to be a burden, but a gift.|

“Wait - okay, so I know why you chose me. But why now, did something happen? Wait - is it Cyrus?”

Pikachu immediately went back into battle mode at that name.

|Whom?|

“Cyrus? The leader of Team Galactic? Guy from Sinnoh? Tried to use Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina to destroy the world and remake it into his ideal ‘World Without Spirit’?” Ash said, trying to jog the Original Pokemon’s memory.

|Hm, haven’t heard of him. Sounds like a massive jerk.|

“Huh… okay, so uh, what happened, why now?”

|Oh, you won a League.|

Pikachu started laughing again, this time hysterically. “It - pi-pi-pi-pi - figures that the first time you win a League conference - ka-ka-ka - it causes the END OF THE WORLD.”

“...wow, that’s a bit of a downer.”

|No no, you misunderstand - the world did not ‘break’, your winning did not negatively affect the world - this patch has been in the works for centuries, I was just waiting for you to be ready! And now you have won a League and I can start over without disrupting your life or your dreams. So in a way your winning did cause this to happen, but it is not a bad thing.|

Ash seemed mollified, “Okay… okay, I can accept that. So the world isn’t broken… why fix it?”

|It has been billions of years since the universe was created - the last patch was only a few million years ago, but still, I and my children have come up with various ideas and improvements since then. I assure you, the patch will enhance almost everyone’s enjoyment of the universe.|

“Well, I don’t know-”

|You’re interested in catching a Dunsparce, aren’t you?|

“Wait” said Pikachu “are you, Arceus, the Original Pokemon… trying to bribe Ash?”

|...is it working?|

“...” Ash was rendered speechless again.

|Then no.| Arceus cleared his throat, |Well, ah, do you remember when you started your journey and everyone in Kanto thought that there were only around 150 Pokemon?| After Ash nodded, Arceus continues |Yes, that was a glitch, one of several I have noticed over the years. Some are minor, some are major - all that I have noticed, millions at this point, will be rectified when you are sent back in time.|

“Well, that’s good - but you said improvements, what are you going to improve? What are you going to change?”

|Do you know how Unova is only a small part of America?|

“Yeah?”

|And yet people act like Unova and Orre are all there is?|

“Yeah, and the same with Kalos and Galaria being all there is of Europe. What, is that another glitch?”

|Essentially, although it’s a bit more complicated than that. They all have Pokemon, of course, and Pokemon Leagues, Champions, Conferences, contests - but for some reason, only a handful of regions have ‘caught on’. I think it is part glitch and part human error. That will change.|

“Huh, okay!” Ash said, “But I gotta say, I don’t know anything about Galaria…”

|It’s a nice enough place, if you don’t like flavor in your food.|

Ash grimaced, “Right, if I go there I have to bring Brock, then - or Cilan… or Mallow… or Serena… actually we’ve always traveled with someone who knows how to cook, haven’t we buddy?” After Pikachu nodded, Ash continued “I’ll have to bring one of them, at least.”

|Oh, I’ll note that down, that’s a good one.|

“What?” Asked Pikachu, Ash nodding along with his closest Pokemon.

|Another update - listen, Ash, are you alright with being sent back now?|

“Well… I guess it is the end of my Alola journey, one way or another… Wait, was Alola made for me?”

|No?|

“Good, sorry, it just seemed perfect for me, so I was wondering.”

|Actually there are some changes to Alola coming, so what are you most attached to?|

If Ash was surprised, he didn’t show it. “Their attitude towards Pokemon - and life, I guess. And the Island Challenge, I like how it’s different from the standard Gym Challenge.”

|Oh, that’s fine then, you have nothing to worry about. Unless you’re attached to the Manalo Conference being held on Manalo Island?|

“Not really, though I guess it’ll have a different name next time?”

|Probably| Arceus agreed, |but then, you never know with humans.|

“Okay - so… I guess I’m ready to go?”

“Wait Ash, you have a party to go to!” Pikachu said, lightly shocking his trainer.

“Wow! You’re right, I almost forgot.” Ash grinned sheepishly.

|Hm, yes, that seems like a good idea.| Arceus decided, |Have your party, talk with your friends and have fun, then when you go to sleep…|

“Time travel, right… Right. I guess I’m ready to go back to normal time?”

|Not quite.| Said Arceus. |Since you are my Chosen One, and are truthfully doing me a huge favor by going back in time, I will grant you a boon. Multiple boons, if you so desire, I am nothing if not generous!|

“Uh… what’s a boon?” Asked Ash.

“Ash….” Pikachu face-palmed.

“What, that’s what Trip always said Pallet Town was. He was mean, and kind of a bigot, glad Iris taught me that word, but I never did figure out what ‘boon’ meant…”

|Well Ash, by ‘boon’ I mean a present, a gift, a favor if you will. Tell me, is there anything you specifically desire? You mentioned a Dunsparce before, for instance.|

“You mentioned it, actually…” Said Pikachu.

|Did I? Oh yes, I did. I think I also mentioned what type of Pokemon your father was, did I not?|

Pikachu’s eyes bulged, and the three of them silently agreed to move on.

“Well… how long am I going back? To the beginning?|

|If you wish, although you only need to go back to your first day as a trainer.|

“...that’s what I meant. Unless - I, uh, I don’t want to be a baby again, yeah being 10 sounds okay. Uh, Pikachu… do you want to go back?”

“What? Of course I do! You want me to go back, right?”

“Yeah, of course!”

“Right!”

|Okay, that’s important. Do you wish any of your other friends to return as well?|

“Oh… um… could you bring back all of them?|

Arceus’ eye twitched. |I could. However, I am not interested in giving _every single person you have ever met _ a complete re-do, since you seem to have a worryingly broad definition of ‘friend’.|

“Right… well uh… are you sending anyone besides me back?”

|Yes.| Arceus replied, |My Chosen Ones need to be sent back first, of course, that is where you come in, but there will be a few select others. Some that you know, in fact, although unless you are absolutely sure someone is a time traveler, I would appreciate if you did not tell them about the patch for security reasons.|

“Okay… okay. So uh… oh! If I give you a list of my closest friends and you pick the top 5 who aren’t already coming back, that would be great!”

|Very well, that seems reasonable enough. In fact, I will grant you the top 6 - plus Pikachu.|

“Gee! Thanks, Arceus!” Said Ash.

“Pika- wait. Uh, yeah, thanks!”

|It is no issue. Is there anything else you would like? Either of you? I know that you have both aided many Legendaries, so it really is no trouble.| Arceus didn’t get out that much and loved granting boons. It was a problem that the Original Pokemon acknowledged, but did nothing to fix.

“Uh… Pikachu? Can you think of anything?”

“Oh, can you make it so that Pikachu, as a species, can safely eat a lot of ketchup?”

|That is an odd request, but doable. Odd requests are welcome, in fact - I enjoy spicing things up. For instance, would you like a new father?|

“...What?”

|You know, a new father. Yours isn’t around much, after-all.|

“He emailed me yesterday!”

|Well, that’s even better! You know your father, have a positive relationship with him - next time, it would add an air of mystery if you did not know who he was. Would you like that, a mystery father?|

To Ash, Arceus seemed a little excited about that. Wait, that was the same tone of voice Gary used when talking about his favorite soap opera, Guiding Litwick. Well that was… interesting. “Ah, sorry, I like my dad!”

|How about… ah you like your mother as well?|

“...yes.”

|What if she raised you, but your birth mother was someone else?|

“It wouldn’t change the fact that she’s my mom, but… please no?”

|Alright alright - your parents will stay the same. Although, they will not retain their memories of this time.|

“Fair enough!” Ash said, grateful that he wouldn’t have to adjust to having Kukui be his dad… well, his biological dad at least. Kukui was, at this point, a second father to Ash. Or a really really young grandfather. Possibly an uncle.

|Would you object to some… small changes? I swear to myself that they will be positive changes.|

Ash looked conflicted, “What kind of changes?”

|Your mother could meet her Mr. Mime earlier.| Arceus suggested eagerly.

“Well, that’s good…”

|And your mother’s father will be present.|

“Really? He died a bit before I was born - that’s really cool, thanks!”

|Oh… it is no problem! Yes, moving right along… unless you have another request, there is one last thing.|

“Pikachu, can you think of anything?” Pikachu shook his head, so Ash motioned Arceus to continue.

|Ash.| The Original One said kindly, |Once you are back in time… you have no obligations.|

“What?”

|I strongly believe in free will - I nudge things every once in a while, but if there was no free will I wouldn’t have to, you understand? So your will is your own - your duty to me would be fulfilled. You will need to go back in time to deal with the Michina incident, but aside from that, anything you want to do, you can. Do not feel as if you must retread your previous steps exactly.|

“But Arceus, I helped a lot of people, and all those disasters and Legendary fights could’ve ended the world! If I don’t stop them-”

|It would not be ideal,| Arceus admitted, |but this time I will know of most of them in advance - I sleep a lot, but if I had to I could awake and intervene. Or have a Celebi bring someone like Lance or Cynthia to the scene - yes, I know of them. And even if you do avoid your old heroic deeds you would probably stumble into new ones, given your penchant for danger. No, do not worry about helping Lugia at Shamouti, or about stopping those fools from provoking Groudon and Kyogre into fighting each-other, do what you want to do. That is my gift to you, a free life. In fact - I guarantee that all of those disasters will be dealt with satisfactorily. Live Ash, don’t worry.| Arceus turned as-if to leave.

“Wait! Arceus, wait! What if I want to do it again?”

|Pardon?|

“What if I want to do it all again?”

|....You died multiple times.|

“Yeah” said Pikachu “that wasn’t fun for us spectators, that’s for sure, but he DID come back. Every single time he died. Which was a lot.”

“Ha ha ha… yeah… but all the times I died, or almost died, were worth it! And I didn’t just do big stuff - there were a lot of people with problems that were big for them but small in the grand scheme of things that I helped! I want to do it all again, and more! I’ll help even more people this time, and I’ll win even more Pokemon battles!”

“Pika!” Said Pikachu, who could still talk like a human but compensated by literally just saying ‘pika’.

“Yeah, well said buddy! Now all the people with ridiculous teams we faced will know what it’s like!”

|Well, I never said my Chosen One couldn’t be petty, just that they had to have a heart bursting with honor and kindness. Very well, that is good to know. However, if you should ever decide to deviate, there will be contingencies for the biggest problems, so don’t sweat it.|

“Right! Thanks, Arceus!”

|Again, it is my pleasure, my Chosen One. Prepare your list of close friends before you go to sleep and leave it on your bedside table. I will… hm, I will send you back to the day before your journey started.|

“Sounds good! Uh, goodbye?”

|We will meet again. Until next time, my Chosen One.| And with that, time went back to normal, Kukui ran outside, and Arceus teleported away. In that order.

“Ash what was that?!?”

“You… noticed that?”

“I noticed that giant Pokemon… was that Arceus??”

“Yeah, haha, he wanted to… uh…”

“He wanted to congratulate Ash- oh that’s still happening.”

“He did say that it should wear off in a week.”

“...he wanted to congratulate you. On winning?” Kukui asked, surprised.

“Yes. Yes he did.”

“And he gave Pikachu the ability to speak??”

“Apparently it’s just something that happens around him…” said Pikachu.

“Wow, that’s really fascinating, so some kind of Ability rather than a move - does he have 4 moves, actually, or would he break the limit, being the creator?”

Ash and Pikachu looked at each-other, and both knew they were remembering when there wasn’t a move limit. Huh, that must be one of those glitches that Arceus mentioned. Hopefully the fact that there was a move limit at all was a glitch, because that felt really weird and limiting to Ash - sure, maybe in a game it would make sense, but this wasn’t a game; it was an anime. No, Ash shook his head, a little disoriented by Arceus’ visit, wait, it was real life.

“Pi-that’s still weird- Professor, don’t worry about it, you can write the paper tomorrow.”

“...Pikachu.” Ash said semi-reprimandingly.

“That’s my line.”

“Well, he’s right Ash, I can write the paper tomorrow - I will, too! But the rest of today is your day, yeah - come on, let’s go back to Melemele for the, you know.”

“Yeah” replied Ash, “I know.”

“The party.” Pikachu reminded Ash.

“I said I knew!”

“Just making sure.”

Kukui chuckled, wondering how Burnet would react to Pikachu’s new Ability. At least, Kukui assumed it was an Ability. An Ability granted by Arceus? An Ability Arceus had that granted Abilities to other Pokemon? Maybe it was time to corner Team Rocket and interview that Meowth…

* * *

“Okay Ash, remember, you don’t know anything about this party.” Kukui said as they got closer and closer to their home.

“Right, I don’t know that my mom wrangled all my available friends from every region and crammed them into your beach shack.”

Kukui looked at Ash, surprised at his comment, and Ash grinned back, feigning obliviousness.

“...I know you’re smarter than you act, but how did you figure that out?”

“I dunno.” Ash shrugged, “it just felt like something she would do.”

“Pi~ka.” Pikachu said, attempting to sound like he was still speaking Pokemon rather than... English? Japanese? Ash wasn't sure what language they were speaking right now, oddly enough.

“Okay” Kukui said, “get ready.” And then Kukui opened the door, and he and Ash were knocked back by upwards of 50 people swarming out of Kukui’s small beach house. Not just 50 people, as Kukui looked closer, but also… was that Zekrom? How had a Legendary Dragon fit into his house? A Legendary Dragon that wasn’t Palkia, at least.

“Wow!” Ash yelled truthfully, “I wasn’t expecting this!”

“Neither was I,” admitted Principal Oak, “Kukui you really need to get a bigger house.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that Samson, his house has its charms.” Said the much more famous Oak. “Hey Ashy-boy, heard you finally won a league… congratulations.” Gary continued, proud of his best friend and former rival.

“Yes Ash, congratulations! And congratulations on that other thing, too!” The most famous Oak of all said.

“...what other thing, Professor?” Asked Ash, a little confused. Could he mean… no, only Kukui and Team Rocket knew about Arceus, and Pikachu of course but that went without saying.

“Ah… we’ll talk later, don’t worry about it.” Professor Oak said, looking around shiftily. Well, Ash trusted that Pikachu would remember to remind him to ask Professor Oak before… the end of the world? The rewind of the world? That.

Ash was broken out of his thoughts by his mother running up to him and enveloping him in a hug. “Oh Ash, I’m _ so _proud of you! And Professor Burnet has been telling me that you haven’t died once during your stay in Alola, that makes me really happy!” Delia said, pulling back and quickly examining Ash to make sure he wasn’t hiding some life-threatening injury caused by a rampaging previously unknown fifth Tapu or something equally ridiculous.

“Ha ha, yeah, it’s really cool that I managed to win a League Conference!” Ash said, pushing aside the mention of his inability to stay out of Legendary trouble. Or rather, his ability to unconsciously find and then get involved in Legendary trouble.

“Ash!” Misty called, coming up to hug Ash as his mom made room for her. “It’s about time!”

Brock came up too, enveloping both of them in a hug. “No improbably powerful opponents that seemed designed to defeat you who immediately fell in their next bout this time, huh?”

Ash scratched his head, laughing. “I think I was that improbably powerful opponent this time, actually.”

“Yeah, you better believe we were the improbably powerful ones this time, and in the next region too!” declared Pikachu.

“...Ash” Misty began, “is… has Pikachu… when did….”

Brock stroked his chin, “Ash, did you meet Arceus again?”

Misty turned to Brock wide-eyed. “Arceus?? Ash met Arceus? I know he’s attracted every single Legendary Pokemon under the sun, but… Arceus???”

“Oh, I guess we never told you…” Ash closed his eyes, giggling self-deprecatingly. “Yeah, that happened in Sinnoh, right Dawn?”

Dawn waved from the crowd. “Right!”

“Yeah, he… he? They? Does the creator of the Universe... have a gender?” Ash asked confusedly.

|Not really, but male pronouns fit about as well as any pronouns do.|

Misty stood still for a moment, then asked in a small voice “Ash… was that…?”

Ash nodded ruefully, “Yeah.” Then he remembered something, “Brock, how did you know that exposure to Arceus gave Pokemon the ability to speak?”

“Oh, you didn’t notice? For three days after Michina Croagunk was scolding me in English… in Japanese… in... “ Brock looked confused. “How have I never wondered what language we speak?”

“Maybe it’ll be fixed after tonight?” Pikachu hedged.

“WELL” Ash shouted, diverting everyone’s attention from what Pikachu just let slip. “IF THIS IS A PARTY….” Ash modulated his voice down, back to normal volumes, “Where’s the food?” He patted his stomach.

The crowd let out an appreciative rumble and Delia motioned for Cilan to unveil what had been concocted by him, Brock, and Mallow. With Delia and Serena’s assistance, of course, but Delia figured that Ash could get her cooking anytime he stopped by Pallet Town, and Serena had been more interested in discussing coordinator tips with Dawn and May. 

* * *

“...so then Blastoise ‘accidentally’ sent a stream of water into one of the scanners we have at the lab, and we had to halt the experiment until it could be fixed, which gave me and Professor Ivy” Brock winced at hearing her name, but motioned for Gary to continue “enough time to convince Professor Rowan that tearing a hole into the fabric of reality while there was an entire dimensional crisis going on in Alola was a bad idea.”

“Why was Professor Ivy in Sinnoh?” asked Ash, a little confused.

“She was there for the experiment, Ash, it’s… kind of obvious from the context.” Dawn said, shaking her head.

Professor Oak walked up, “Ah, sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to speak with Ash about something.”

Ash’s other friends all nodded in understanding, so he stood up, waited for Pikachu to jump onto his shoulder, and followed the Professor.

When they were out of earshot of the others, Professor Oak turned to him and cut right to the chase. “Ash… do you know why I congratulated you earlier?”

Ash shrugged, “Besides the fact that I won Manalo?”

“That is impressive, but yes besides that.”

Ash shook his head, and Pikachu did as well.

Professor Oak sighed, “Well, this is… not an easy subject to broach. Ash… have you ever met a Celebi?”

Ash cocked his head, “...weren’t you there when I met Celebi?”

“Ah, good, I wasn’t sure if you’d realized that was me.” Professor Oak smiled. “Right… did you know that Celebi and I developed a bond of friendship, to the point where, if I had asked, Celebi would have joined my team and fought with me?”

Ash’s eyes widened, “Wow, Professor that’s amazing! I didn’t know you’d connected that well with Celebi, that’s really cool!”

“Well, yes, yes it is… Ash, I’m going to level with you. It has good sides and bad sides. Being the partner of any Legendary has bad sides… and you’ve clearly been chosen by at least one Legendary Pokemon.”

“You mean Meltan?” asked Ash.

“Yes, Meltan is the most obvious one… Ash, you know how most Legendary Pokemon are functionally immortal?”

Ash nodded, not sure where this was going.

“Right… it’s not because they cannot die, if they are injured badly enough they can, but once they reach adulthood… they don’t age. Or if they do, they age incredibly slowly.”

Ash nodded again.

Professor Oak sighed, “Ash… I dye my hair white.”

“...okay?” Ash asked, confused. “That’s weird but…”

“It’s because I’m physically 20. These lines on my face are care and stress lines, nothing more.”

Ash was speechless.

“Ash, Legendary Pokemon don’t often choose trainers, but when they do they usually choose them for life. Their life, not ours. To… counteract that they use their powers to make us age more slowly. Celebi is particularly skilled in that, as they control time, so with a combination of their time manipulation and various cosmetic materials, I appear to be my actual age. At the current rate I’m physically aging, I may well make it to my 200th birthday!”

Ash nodded, taking it in. “Wait… how old are you? I thought you were around 10 when we met you in Johto…”

Professor Oak shrugged, “I’m in my 60s now, I was in my late teens when I met you all in Johto - but that’s the first time I met Celebi as well. I’ve always assumed Celebi influenced my aging before they met me, given their time travel capabilities.”

Ash nodded, then asked “Do all Legendary Pokemon do this?”

Professor Oak shrugged, “Most of them do, Brandon of the Battle Frontier is older than I am, you know.”

Ash looked at himself, then up at Professor Oak. “I’m still 10, aren’t I.” He didn’t even bother to phrase that as a question.

“Well… I think you were 11 when Shamouti happened.” Professor Oak said, not unkindly. “But yes, physically you are 11, even though mentally you are nearly 18.”

Ash thought for a moment, “...that’s a bit messed up.”

“Most people who’ve bonded with a Legendary do so as adults, so it’s less of an issue.” Professor Oak admitted. “And with me, by the time I was 30 Celebi had managed to make me be physically in my late teens so I could grow a beard. I suggest growing one as soon as you can, my boy.”

Ash grinned, “Thanks Professor, I appreciate it.”

“Ash, it’s not just you.”

“Pikachu?”

“I... most of my species live around 8 years, sometimes 10, Raichu live a little longer than that… Ash I was 3 when I met you, and I think I stopped aging in Johto.”

Ash stared at Pikachu, “That’s… wow… Pikachu I never considered your age I… I’m so relieved, even though I was never worried!”

Professor Oak smiled, relieved as well. “I’m glad to hear that - honestly, I was about to suggest travelling with your Greninja as Pikachu’s second-in-command so-to-speak, as I know you have a very deep bond with him and that he’s bonded with a Legendary himself, not to mention that Regional Standard Starters are specifically picked for their species’ longer lifespans… Since Pikachu seems to have been granted the same boon as you, that’s not necessary. But I still suggest picking him up, he misses you!”

Ash frowned, then smiled, “Yeah… yeah… I’ll… I miss him too and I’ll get back to him as soon as I can.”

“We… oh right.” Pikachu said. “Right…”

“... Ash, you know I’m here for you, if there’s anything that’s bothering you I’d be happy to help, or at least lend an ear.” Professor Oak offered.

“No… I… it’s okay Professor.” Ash wasn’t going to ruin tonight, the last night he had before he’d have to start all over again. It was a great opportunity, yeah, Ash was looking forward to it, he was looking forward to re-meeting all his friends… but he would have to rebuild almost all of those friendships, with Pokemon and Humans alike. It wasn’t the best scenario, that’s for sure. Maybe if Cyrus or Ghetsis were the reason for the rewind, Arceus would have decided to remind all of Ash’s friends, but as the cause was peaceful…

“Ash, if you don’t want to tell me that’s your choice - but I’ll always be willing to listen. I’ll even be in Alola for the next week visiting with Samson, so if you ever feel like telling me, I’ll be here.”

“Thanks Professor.” Ash said, and he meant it.

“Yeah” said Pikachu, “maybe Ash will tell you tomorrow.”

Ash’s grin became fixed, and Professor Oak decided that Ash had had enough concerning reveals today. If only he knew...

As Professor Oak returned to the party, Ash turned to Pikachu worriedly, “Buddy, in the new world Arceus will probably keep me young, but-”

“It’s okay Ash, we’re going to Johto again aren’t we?” asked Pikachu.

Ash nodded, “Yeah buddy, we are… wait, do you know which Legendary…?”

Pikachu nodded.

“Alright, that’s good enough for me.” Ash said, “Now let’s… let’s have fun until the party ends.”

And with that, they rejoined the party.

* * *

“Ash…” Lillie asked hesitantly, “are you going to stay in Alola?”

“What? Of course Ash is staying!” Mallow declared, “He lives here now! And he won the League Conference, beat the Masked Royal… aren’t you the Grand Champion?” She asked, turning towards Ash.

“...ah… yeah I guess I could be the Grand Champion… If I wanted to be.” Ash scratched his head, “Well… I love Alola a lot, and I’m definitely going to come back! But… my journey isn’t over.”

“Yeah, we still have a lot of regions to go through.” Pikachu commented.

Everyone had, throughout the course of the night, gotten used to Pikachu’s newfound Ability. “Well,” said Kiawe, “that makes this easier. Ash, will you allow me to accompany you to your next region?”

Ash blinked, “huh?”

“I have wanted to see what other regions were like for a while - to grow as a trainer and as a person, to see how their Conferences and gym battles work first-hand - even if you decided to stay I would eventually leave - but I will admit that I would be much happier traveling with a friend.” Ash knew that Kiawe meant a friend aside from his Pokemon, and he was touched.

“Kiawe… yeah, of course you can come with me!” Ash carefully didn’t mention that no, Kiawe couldn’t come with him… unless Ash put him high on his list… meaning that Kiawe would wake up as a 9-year-old. That would probably be a bit disconcerting.

“Thank you, I appreciate it.” Kiawe patted Ash on the back, “Make sure to tell me a month before we leave so that I may arrange things with my family.”

Ash nodded, “Okay - ah, I plan on leaving… very soon, actually.” He winced, not liking how that sounded. “Not just because I won the Manalo Conference, it’s more than that, I want to see the whole world before I settle down… If I settle down."

Mallow frowned, then immediately brightened. “Well, in that case… I’m coming too!”

Ash blinked again, “I…”

“Me as well!” Lillie declared, with a determined look on her face. “I… I have heard a lot about Pokemon Contests, and I’d love to try… and maybe win one? Can I come with?”

Ash felt tears prickling in his eyes, “Guys…”

Lana spoke up, “I’ll visit you, but I’d rather stay in Alola long-term, sorry.”

Sophocles nodded, “Yeah, you’re all my friends, but I don’t really want to leave for more than a vacation.”

“No, that’s okay!” Ash said, “I… I really appreciate all of you, if you want to go with me or if you want to stay… thank you all for being my friends.”

Ash’s Alola friends all hugged him at this, and he felt very teary-eyed. 3 friends who offered to come with him to the next region… Ash had a few names that he had to put ahead of theirs, but maybe… Maybe.

* * *

It took a while, but the party eventually ended - most of Ash’s friends from other regions ended up either staying at the Pokemon Center or camping out in the open air when the Pokemon Center filled up, with a few being put up for the night by the families of Ash’s Alolan friends - for instance, Mallow’s dad had taken in Cilan and Ash’s mom for the night, as a ‘solidarity between restaurant owners’ thing.

As Ash left the bathroom after brushing his teeth (not that he needed to, considering what was about to happen, but Professors Kukui and Burnet would notice if he didn’t), he noticed that Professor Burnet was waiting for him in the hall. “Professor?”

“Ash, I wanted to tell you how proud of you I am.”

Ash kept hearing that today, but it wasn’t getting old. “Thanks, Professor, I really appreciate it!”

Professor Burnet brushed a strand of hair out of her face, “Ash, you know you can just call me Burnet.”

Ash shrugged, “Yeah, I could call Professor Oak ‘Sam’ or ‘Samuel’ or even ‘Grandpa’ if I wanted to too, but I like adding ‘Professor’ before the name.”

Professor Burnet shrugged, looking bemused. “Okay. Well Ash, I wanted to let you know that I’m going to be going to Galar in a few weeks for a scientific conference. I heard from Kukui that he’s about to lose 3 quarters of his class, so I wanted to offer to travel with all of you for a little while, if that’s where you plan on going.”

Ash scratched his head, “Thanks a lot, Professor, we’ll definitely take you up on that offer!” He didn’t mention that it might take 7 years for him and his friends to be able to make good on his promise, but that’s how it went.

“I’m glad - keep it between us, but I think Kukui’s worried about you - all of you who are leaving, but you most of all. He sees you as a son, you know that, right?”

Ash blinked, “I… yeah. Yeah I knew that.” He had known it.... more or less, at least.

Professor Burnet smiled and ruffled Ash’s hair, “That’s good. Well, you really look beat - not that it’s not warranted - so I’ll leave you to go to sleep. Goodnight, Ash!”

“Goodnight!” Ash called as he made his way to the loft where Pikachu had helpfully pulled out a pen and paper. Right. “Thanks buddy.”

“Sure Ash - wow this is weird.”

“Ha, yeah.” Ash sat down and shotgunned a couple of names - Pikachu was already coming with for sure, so he left him off that list, but there were a couple of people that Ash just couldn’t leave off. Gary, even putting aside the fact that he and Ash were now best friends, had kind of been… a jerk, back when they started their journeys. A really weird jerk. A _ really _ weird jerk, now that Ash thought about it - he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know about some of the stuff Gary got up to. “Pikachu, here’s the first 4 - anyone you can think of to to be in the ‘definitely remind’ section?”

“Those are pretty good - I think Misty would turn out the same whether she was reminded or not, but it IS your choice - one of the Kanto starters should probably be number 5, and then May for-sure.”

Ash scratched his head in confusion, “I understand why you’re suggesting Bulbasaur” Pikachu hadn’t specifically suggested Bulbasaur, actually, but he knew why Ash had immediately thought of him, “but May?”

“Ash, out of all the people who’ve traveled with us - with the possible exception of Lillie - May’s the one who changed the most. Remember how when we met her she didn’t like Pokemon?”

Ash scratched the top of his head, “Yeah, yeah you’re right. May for number 6 of definitely-getting-reminded. 10 more just-in-case?”

“Sounds good.” Pikachu replied. “Tracey, Max, Dawn, Iris, Cilan, Clemont, Bonnie, Serena, Kiawe, and… Lillie?”

“Tracey’ll be on there, Kiawe too, but almost everyone else you mentioned besides Serena and Cilan are 3 or more years younger than me. Even Clemont will be 7 when we wake up tomorrow... I’ll make sure to keep in touch with Serena this time, Cilan… will probably follow me like he did before, hopefully, and it'd be cruel to remind anyone younger than 9… Bonnie might not even be born, she was around 5 when we went through Kalos.”

Pikachu scratched his chin, “Good point, good point - so mostly Pokemon for this list? Professor Oak? Oh, you bringing Rotom back?”

Ash grimaced, “I love Rotom, but 7 years of him… no. I was thinking about Team Rocket, actually.”

Pikachu looked horrified, then understanding. “Yeah… but would they take this as an opportunity to reform, or would they keep following us around trying to steal me and other members of your team?”

Ash shrugged, “7 years is a long time and Team Rocket have never won against us, if they reform that’s nice, and if they don’t I’m not worried. Honestly, my suggestion is mainly based on their entertainment value.”

Pikachu nodded sagely, “True, true, entertainment is important - but have you considered how funny it would be if we were prepared for all their schemes and they had no idea how? Ridiculously prepared?”

Ash nodded, doing his best to do it even more sagely than Pikachu had, “Yes, that is a good idea - but consider this: we only put one of them on the list.”

Pikachu winced, “I know you were joking, but that would be cruel.”

Ash nodded, “Yeah, it’s either all 4 on the list or all 4 off the list. So that’s a ‘no’ on Team Rocket… I kind of want to put Zekrom on here.”

Pikachu scrunched his nose, “Isn’t he going to remember anyway because he’s a Legendary?”

Ash shrugged, “We didn’t really get a chance to ask Arceus how this worked, I’m going to assume Celebi will know, and probably Dialga, but anyone else we can’t be sure… So Zekrom, any objections?”

Pikachu shook his head, “Fine with me - oh, you’re wondering if I hold a grudge over that whole ‘shooting me with too much electricity’ thing, nah. I’m fine with Zekrom.”

Ash nodded, “...Meltan?”

Pikachu nodded, “Sounds good to me, it’d be nice to have a couple Legendaries on our team for when we deal with the big stuff.”

Ash stroked his chin, “I… kind of want to bring back Latios. You know, Latias’ brother… the one who… he didn’t deserve to die.”

“I agree - but he’s not going to be dead when we rewind, we’ll have a second chance to save him.”

“Good point, good point - so that’s Kiawe, Tracey, Zekrom and Meltan - I… I kind of don’t want to have to choose between my Pokemon? They’re - well besides you and Greninja they’re all equal in my heart. Bulbasaur’s so early on that list because I know how much he enjoyed his role as pacifier at Professor Oak’s ranch.”

“Yeah, yeah I understand… do you want to just write ‘Tauros’ 6 times and let Arceus handle it?”

Ash almost fell out of his chair, and swatted at Pikachu. “You want to prank the Original Pokemon? Yeah, I'll do it! ‘Togepi’ for Misty, ‘Steelix’ for Brock, and then ‘Tauros’ four times, that’s genius, buddy.”

Pikachu grinned and jumped up onto Ash’s bed. After a minute Ash joined him, and Pikachu obligingly walked onto his chest - the list went next to Ash’s head, and then they both immediately fell asleep.

A few minutes later, a roar of “DIALGA GA DIADIALGAAA” could be heard… pretty much everywhere, and the world fell apart, atoms rearrange themselves, time ‘flew’ ‘backwards’, and the world put itself back together.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At 8,000 words this is my longest fic ever... and this is still the first chapter! I have the second chapter mostly done and the third chapter started, I'll post chapter 2 around the time 3 is finished and 3 around the time 4 is finished. I seem to have an ungodly drive when it comes to writing this fic, so I may actually have a weekly update schedule for once.
> 
> I'll update and add more tags as they come up, though for the next few chapters these will definitely suffice. I... tried to make Ash not incredibly dumb, but not like, hyper-smart either - he's not hyper-smart, he's a great trainer but he's not Pokemon Professor material. Also, next chapter and the chapter after that there will be hints of shipping - namely shipping Ash with two different people. That's only for gags, if I have any non-canon ship here (Delia Ketchum/Ash's dad is presumably canon, and Kukui/Burnet definitely is) it'd probably be Brock/James because I think that's really funny. Not saying I won't have Ash/Gary or Ash/Misty or Ash/Kiawe or even Ash/May or maybe Ash/Serena down the line, but for now these are my plans. Also, if it comes to it, I'll only ship Ash with one person. This ain't Pokemon Reset Bloodlines. (Though I love the 'Ash having 10 million siblings' thing from 'Reset', that's hilarious.)
> 
> As I said in the summary, this is inspired by Ashes of the Past - it's not going to be a carbon copy though, by any means, and it won't include the same twists and turns. I love Ashes, probably my favorite Pokemon fic out there (tied with A Professor and His Student), but trying to be exactly the same would be a disservice to it, and also pointless.


	2. PokePatch Ash.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash wakes up in the past, and gets to experience the day before his Pokemon journey again... although it's weirder this time. But not a bad kind of weird.

Ash woke up to the odd feeling of not having a heavily-muscled mouse on his chest. “Huh? Oh… right yeah.” He checked his alarm clock. “Alright, I met Pikachu tomorrow.” Ash sighed.

Ash heard a knock on his door, “Ash? You up yet?”

“Yeah, I’ll be down in a minute mom!” he called out, rolling out of bed and getting dressed.

“Good - oh, don’t forget that your grandfather’s coming for lunch and staying the night, so wear nice clothes, you know what he’s like.”

Ash racked his brain, surely since Arceus made it so that his grandfather was still alive Ash would have memories of him. Luckily, Ash did have some memories of him - a sort-of strict smile, a pat on the head, an admonition to ‘think Ash, don’t be like your uncle’ which made Ash try to remember his uncle, who as far as Ash knew didn’t exist last time, and come up with squat. Apparently Ash hadn’t met him, huh. Ash noticed that, for some reason, his closet had dress clothes - he was 10, theoretically he’d grow out of these in a month - but he shrugged and put some of them on. His mom did say ‘nice clothes’ after-all. After brushing his hair - which didn’t do much, Ash remembered that he let a little Rattata nest in it yesterday as he looked for its mom - he went downstairs, deciding not to put on a suit jacket or a tie, which he had multiples of for some reason.

“Ah, there you are.” His mother commented, “Omelette for breakfast today, and Mimey made orange juice! Oh, you look nice - don’t get that dirty before lunch, now.” She admonished, though not harshly.

“Mime!” announced Mimey, handing Ash a glass of juice.

“Thanks Mimey! And thanks for making breakfast mom, it smells great!” Ash called out, and then immediately scarfed it all down. Ash was really happy that Arceus made it so mom and Mimey met earlier - Mimey was really the perfect Pokemon for her.

His mom laughed behind her hand as she sat down. “Do you have any plans, Ash?”

Ash remembered that there was no school in the two-week lead-up to beginning one’s Pokemon journey - Ash, Gary, and two others in town were starting tomorrow. Ash knew that one of the others ended up going back to Pallet town after not making it to the Indigo Conference, and that the other ended up - or would end up - training with Erika as a Grass-type specialist, and he thought he’d heard something about plans to open a Grass-type Gym in Johto. That was cool, actually, he’d have to go to Johto to catch up with them in around 7 years.

As he finished his plate, he took it to the sink. “Want me to do the washing up, mom?”

His mom looked at him oddly, “I’d love you to, actually, but you don’t normally remember to offer.”

Ash laughed self-deprecatingly, “Well, I’m starting my journey tomorrow, right? I should get used to this kind of thing…”

Delia nodded, “Good point - just don’t let grandpa see you washing the dishes, he thinks that’s Mimey’s job.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s actually mellowed out since I was a kid.”

Ash remembered bits about his grandpa, but didn’t know enough to reply, and focussed on not getting his clothes wet instead.

“So Ash” his mom asked, pulling open the newspaper and handing Mimey the obituaries “which starter are you thinking about choosing?”

Ash dried his hands off, “Well, I’ve always liked Squirtles, and I’d love to fly with a Charizard - but Bulbasaurs are really cool too!”

His mom chuckled, “You sure you’re not going to stumble into the forest today and walk out with an entire flock of Spearow as your starters?”

Ash scratched his head, “That’d be cool too!” He carefully didn’t mention that he did plan on stumbling into the forest and walking out with his starter. “Do you need me to do anything before heading out, actually? I want to-”

There was a loud, persistent knock on the door.

Delia sighed, “He’s earlier than usual - sit down and look leisurely. Mimey, could you-?”

Mimey put down what he’d been reading and went to open the door. “...Mr. Mime?” He asked.

“Hi Mimey - I need to talk to Ashy-boy about something.”

Ash stood up very fast, knocking his knee against the table by accident. “Gary! Right - I mean, I hate it when you call me that!”

Gary looked over Mimey’s shoulder, a careful expression on his face. “Ash, I need to talk to you about something right now.”

Mom’s eyes lit up and she pushed Ash out, “Finally - I’ve been waiting for you to to stop hating each-other, shoo, shoo! I’d invite you to lunch, Gary, but Ash’s grandfather is coming over! Go!”

With a final push Ash was out of the house, and the door slammed shut.

“Well, that happened.” He announced, looking Gary up and down. “So you noticed?”

Gary looked at Ash flatly, “Gee, I wonder, I wake up 10 years old in my grandpa’s house the day before I started my Pokemon Journey… no Ash-boy, why would I notice that?”

Ash laughed awkwardly, “Arceus didn’t appear in your dreams?”

Gary’s jaw dropped. “Arceus - you mentioned that you met Arceus multiple times - but.” Gary almost sat down, but Ash grabbed him by his arm and started dragging him in the general direction of the forest.

“Yeah - I’m his Chosen One.”

“And what, you Chose me as your time travel buddy?” Gary scoffed.

“Well… yeah.” Ash admitted, still pulling Gary along.

Gary stopped at that, though, making Ash look back. “...thanks, man.”

“No problem! I uh, I didn’t bring Blastoise back, so you’ll have to start all over again with him, sorry…”

“Nah it’s fine - not like you brought Pikachu back, is it?”

Of course, life being what it was, Pikachu chose that moment to come rocketing out of the under-brush. “ASH!”

Gary sighed, “Of course you did… well, you could only bring two of us back, right?”

Ash chuckled nervously, “Yeah… yeah of course!”

Gary nodded, “It makes sense - I appreciate you choosing me, Ash, and I won’t let you down.”

“Thanks, man.” Ash said, patting Gary on the back.

“So what are we doing, what’s our mission?” Gary asked, serious expression on his face.

“Mission?”

“You know, why you were sent back, what our goal is, who we’re going after, what was so important that Arceus sent his champion backwards through time, the thing so bad that the creator of the universe broke time to fix?”

Ash scratched his head, “Well, Pokemon could only learn 4 moves…”

Gary choked, “What??”

“And only 6 regions were really talked about.” Pikachu added.

“Yeah, and all of Kanto thought that only 150 Pokemon existed.” Ash continued.

“....you were sent back… to teach Pokemon more than 4 moves, to publish a travel guide, and to revitalize Kanto’s school system.” Gary stated incredulously.

“I mean… sort of.” Ash shrugged, “Do you know how computers work?”

Gary scratched his head, “Yeah a bit, why, were you also sent back to make sure Linux would reign as the supreme operating system?”

Ash shrugged, “I don’t know what that is, so no.” Gary rolled his eyes, so Ash continued. “Apparently Arceus and his kids - don’t ask, he didn’t explain - put together a ‘patch’ for the universe?”

Gary’s eyes bulged. “Okay… so that patch made it so that Pokemon can learn more than 4 moves?”

“I guess? That’s what it sounded like…”

Gary huffed, “Okay - so what does sending you back in time fix? If the patch sent you back in time, why? Grandpa definitely wasn’t sent back, and Daisy wasn’t either, I checked.”

Ash shrugged, “I think I _am_ the patch?”

“The vehicle for the patch, at least.” Pikachu said.

Gary shook his head, “Okay… so what do we have to do for the patch to take effect?”

Ash shrugged, “Apparently it already has.”

“I know all the moves I learned before and forgot, actually, though I’ll need to regain all my old muscle mass and precision.” Pikachu added. “So that’s around 15 moves? Or something like that.”

Gary stared. “Ash, remind me to invest in rubber boots.”

“I’ll buy yours when I buy mine.” Ash reassured.

“Okay, okay - so you don’t need to do anything?”

“Nope.” Ash shook his head.

“Nothing at all?”

Ash shook his head again.

“Me neither?”

Ash shook his head a third time.

“Okay, so let’s pick up our starters and all our old Pokemon and then completely conquer Orre.”

Ash’s eyes bulged, “What???”

“What? It won’t be easy, but it’ll be fun.” Gary shrugged. “You brought me back - I guess because you value our friendship a lot? I do too - so let’s hang out.”

“You want to hang out by beating up everyone in Orre?”

“Why not? It’s new.” Gary shrugged.

Pikachu stroked his chin, “Let’s get all the Kanto gym badges first, then when we’re qualified for the Indigo Conference we can go to Orre. We did have a lot of downtime last time.”

Ash shook his head, “Let’s… we can go to the Orange Islands, see if we can’t pick up Lapras and Snorlax early, both win that league since it’s not a Conference format… then we can do Indigo and then Orre after that?”

Gary shrugged, “Sounds fine by me - are we going your old route through Kanto?”

“Well we’ll need to pick up my all my Pokemon - but we can go where you want too, yeah!” Ash was glad that Gary wanted to travel with him, this would be fun.

“Nice - okay Ash I have to let you in on a secret now.”

Ash obligingly leaned in, hand cupped behind his ear.

Gary whispered, “We need to complete a side quest today and early tomorrow so that I can get permission to drive a car.”

Ash fell over, and Pikachu started cackling.

When Ash recovered, he shook his head. “I was wondering about that car actually. What about the cheerleaders?”

Gary winced, “Those weren’t real cheerleaders, Ash.”

“...what were they, then? Jennies in training?”

“No… Ash I accidentally ran over a Ditto the first day of my journey.”

Ash winced, “Oh. That’s awful!”

“Yeah, it was.” Gary grimaced.

“So… those cheerleaders were all Ditto? That Ditto’s kids?” Ash asked.

“Kind of - do you know what happens to a Ditto when it dies?” Gary asked.

Ash shook his head.

“It splits into a lot of tiny Ditto.”

Ash shuddered, “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Gary replied. “I - they should not have given someone who couldn’t see above the steering wheel a driver’s license.”

“Wait” Pikachu said, “aren’t you about to go get permission to drive again?”

Gary nodded, “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Yeah” Ash said, “Gary fits right in with us, doesn’t he Pikachu?”

* * *

After carrying around a lot of buckets of water and sitting through 5 really boring conversations, Gary and Ash got to the point where only Gary could continue, because only one of them could get certified to drive at 10. That’s how this kind of thing went, so Ash and Pikachu decided to get home a bit before lunch, and bade Gary goodbye. They’d try to see each-other before tomorrow, but if they didn’t they’d be sure to meet up at Professor Oak’s lab.

“Ash, is that a car parked next to your house?” Pikachu asked.

Ash looked closely, “Yeah - that’s my grandpa’s car.”

“Grandpa? Oh yeah, Arceus did say he was going to have your grandpa be alive.”

“Okay - right, he’s a bit uptight, so just… act natural.”

“Pika!”

“...right.”

Ash brushed off his clothes, straightened his shirt, and knocked on the door. “Mom? I’m back!”

Mimey opened the door, greeting Ash. “Mime, Mr. Mime.”

“Gary and I were talking about our plans - I’m not late am I? I tried to get back early.”

Mimey shook his head, glancing at Pikachu before shrugging, and motioned for Ash to follow him.

“Mime.” He announced.

“Ah, there you are.” Grandpa said, looking Ash up and down. “Getting ready for your journey by playing in the forest? At least you were careful.” He looked at Pikachu and sighed. “You’re still bringing home Pokemon?”

Ash shrugged, “He’s my friend - besides, I didn’t just bring him home!”

Grandpa raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

“As soon as I get my first Pokeballs I’m going to catch him.” Ash declared.

“Pika!” Pikachu added, not noticing that Mimey and Grandpa’s Persian were looking at him oddly.

“Well, I can’t scold you for being proactive.” Grandpa shrugged, “In fact I should congratulate you - Pikachu are versatile Pokemon, and Raichu are very powerful. When you don’t pit them against Ground-types of-course.” He chuckled, and Ash nervously chuckled too, not mentioning how many mistakes he had made in the past. Type advantage… well it wasn’t everything. Ash knew that if he believed in his Pokemon enough, they could overcome anything! Even Legendaries… Multiple times per region… Oh yeah, they’d have to make sure to stop by Shamouti and help Lugia.

“So this is your Starter?” Grandpa asked, and Ash nodded.

“Very well - as you know, Starters are special. Your mother’s Starter was my Starter’s granddaughter actually, do you remember your aunt Mittens, Persian?” Persian purred, and Grandpa nodded. “That reminds me - do you want another Meowth, Delia?”

Mom’s mouth curved downwards, “Father, I told you - I loved Mittens, and I would never replace her.”

Grandpa nodded, “It wouldn’t be a replacement - but I won’t force you. Ash.”

“Yes Grandfather?”

“Persian and his mate have three Meowths right now. You will choose one.”

Ash’s eyes widened, “A Meowth?”

“Yes - although I will require that you treat them like your Pikachu - your second Starter, as it were. A scion of my Starter deserves the best - just as my own descendants deserve the best.”

Ash shared a glance with Pikachu, wow Grandpa was weird. “I’ll take a look at the Meowths, and if any of them want to come with me I’ll take good care of them!”

Persian walked over and started rubbing against Ash’s hand, so Ash started petting him. Grandpa nodded in approval, “Good.”

Mom had a fixed expression on her face, and went to the stove to check on the - oh nice, they were having curry for lunch.

“Delia, are you still happy running that Cafe of yours?” Grandpa asked.

“Yes father. I took a break today, so my employees are running it in my stead. I couldn’t close it down for the day, of course - business has really been booming since the mysterious and unfortunate closures of all the other restaurants in town.” Mom wasn’t happy about that, and actually it was weird because Ash knew that Big Ned’s Pancake Hut was one of the most popular franchises in Kanto and had been reasonably popular locally, but maybe it was that Butterfree effect he’d heard about? Or maybe the Beautifly effect, Ash had heard about both and assumed they were different things.

Grandpa nodded, “Good, good. You know, if you ever change your mind, you’d be guaranteed a high position in the family business.”

Mom looked pained, “Father… no.”

Grandpa looked disappointed, then turned to Ash. “Ash, when you’re ready to settle down, remember that you’re welcome to be co-leader of the family Gym.”

Ash grinned, “Gee, thanks Grandfather! I’ll definitely remember that.”

Grandpa Giovanni looked pleased, and mom looked very put-upon. What was bothering her?

“I think you’re going to take after both your parents Ash - your mother’s skill with business and accounting and your father’s skill at training Pokemon. When you’re older, you’ll be a valuable member of my organization... if you’re willing to join, of course.” At that Grandpa nodded to mom as if making a concession, and she didn’t respond, instead putting a big bowl of rice on the table. Mom was always insistent that Ash should do what he wanted to - in both the first go-through and this one with his living grandpa, although she was more… insistent this time. Sounded like Grandpa really wanted someone to take over… Ash wasn’t sure what Grandpa did outside of being a Gym Leader, actually, he probably ran some kind of company?

“Ash, what Pokemon do you think you’ll catch first? I remember you were talking about how you’d like a Dragonite yesterday.” Mom asked as she offered Grandpa a glass of water.

“Yeah, Dragonite are cool! Professor Oak’s is really beautiful, and Champion Lance’s is just awesome, don’t you think so Pikachu?” Grandpa winced at the mention of Lance, and mom smiled as she took a bite of curry.

“Pika-pika!” Pikachu declared, this time noticing that both Mimey and Persian were staring at him. “...I guess the Meowth’s out of the bag. Yes, Ash, I agree.”

Mom dropped her chopsticks, and even Grandpa paused. “Well, that’s surprising. Ash, how did you meet this Pikachu?”

“I… he was…”

“Ash saved me from a Fearow!” Pikachu declared.

“Yeah, that Fearow was weirdly resistant to electric attacks.” Ash played along. “Luckily I managed to scare it away by throwing rocks at it.”

“And how did you learn to speak, exactly?” Grandpa asked, looking at Pikachu expectantly.

“My grandfather taught me.” Said Pikachu.

“Yeah, that’s what happened, you can’t prove he didn’t! Grandfather, I was wondering when you wanted me to take a look at Persian’s kittens?”

Grandpa looked at Ash for a moment, and then shook his head. “I will ask again later, and will expect a real answer, but I will drop the topic for now. You plan on challenging the Cerulean Gym first with that starter of yours, I suppose? Supplemented with a Bulbasaur from Oak for an ideal type match-up of course, so I will expect you to stop by on your way to Cerulean City.”

Ash nodded, “Thanks, Grandfather.” Since mom called him ‘father’, Ash decided that the full ‘grandfather’ was better than ‘grandpa’. He and Pikachu could come up with a better lie by… oh who was Ash kidding, they’d be in Viridian tomorrow.

Mom seemed to regain her composure, “So Pikachu, are you looking forward to your and Ash’s journey?”

“Yeah, I can’t wait! Ash is great and I bet we’ll have a lot of fun together.” Pikachu said excitedly.

Mom and grandpa shared a glance and both smiled. Well, at least mom wasn’t always… angry at grandpa? Ash had some vague memories of Giovanni from the first time around - wait a minute.

* * *

Ash chatted for a few hours with his mom and grandpa - he had no choice, really, so he enjoyed getting to know the man, even if Ash knew he hadn’t been his grandpa last time around. Finally grandpa went to the other room to make some calls and mom shooed Ash away so she could read a bit before making dinner, so Ash and Pikachu ended up outside again.

“Pikachu, you remember meeting-”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Okay… did Arceus really change who my grandpa was?”

“It… looks like it.”

“That’s really weird… and why the Gym Leader of Viridian city?”

“No clue… wasn’t he trying to get to Mewtwo in Johto?”

“Yeah… he wasn’t at his Gym when we went there, actually… do you think he got into trouble with Team Rocket? Did they force him to join?”

Pikachu looked worried, “Ash… you may not have the same grandfather you had last time… but he’s your grandfather this time and we’ll make sure he’s okay, okay?”

“Yeah… yeah. Thanks buddy.”

Pikachu rubbed his cheek against Ash’s, and they went off looking for Gary.

* * *

Ash patted his belly, “Thanks for dinner mom, it tasted great!”

“Yes Delia, your cooking skills truly are exquisite.”

Mom smiled, “Thank you, both of you. Ash, your Pokemon journey starts tomorrow, so even though it’s early…”

Ash nodded, “Yeah, I’ll go to bed early, that’s a good idea. Goodnight mom, grandfather.”

As Ash and Pikachu walked upstairs, he heard mom say to grandpa “See? I told you he was acting more mature… If he turns out like Silver I’ll never forgive you.”

Ash brushed his teeth, wondering who Silver was.

* * *

Ash was having a very odd dream - not quite a nightmare, but he did die in it, although as usual he came back to life afterwards. The only reason he knew it was a dream was that he had been woken up from it - by someone staring at him. “Ga-hrrgh!” His yell was muffled by Pikachu, who had jumped on his face in surprise. “Who are - why are you in my house?”

The person - kid, really, looked about 10, the same age that Ash technically was - looked at his feet. “You - oh yeah of course you don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?” Ash asked, taking a closer look. Was this one of his friends? He knew Tracey was a few years older than him, but maybe he would have a growth spurt soon and looked ten until they met? This person did look familiar…

“I mean I don’t know if you even met her yet…”

“...you mean Misty?” Ash asked.

The boy’s eyes widened, and he nodded.

That settled it. “Yeah I know Misty-” Ash began, ready to explain everything to Tracey.

“And there’s Pikachu! You’re good friends already, that’s great, I want a Starter just like him! Maybe a Water-type though, you know how mom is...”

Not Tracey, Tracey had had a Starter. “Well… I could help you catch a Chinchou, uh... I’m sorry, I don’t recognize you.”

“Yeah, you… you probably wouldn’t.” The kid scratched his cheek - even though it was dark, Ash saw there was a ‘z’ mark on his cheek, just like on Ash’s cheeks. And - that was red hair… what?

“What’s… what’s your name?”

“I… I’m Shoal. Shoal Ketch-”

“Bi!” Called a high-pitched voice. “Cele! Celebi!”

“I have to go. Say hi to mom when you see her - I’m rooting for you… obviously.” With that Shoal ran to the window and jumped out, and as Ash ran to look he saw that Shoal wasn’t anywhere.

“Ash… Ash this is big.”

“Yeah… yeah I know…”

“Arceus is trolling you so hard right now.”

“I… what?”

“Well, what’s your explanation?”

“Misty and I are going to have a son who inherited my skill at finding and helping Legendaries?”

“Yeah, I’m not denying that, but I think Arceus must have arranged this meeting, I mean what are the chances? Unless this is just me have a really weird dream.”.

“If it’s anyone having the dream, buddy, it’s me.”

“Or both of us, it could be a Darkrai.”

Ash furrowed his brow, “Yeah, that’s a good point…” He walked to his desk and made a note on a piece of paper. “Okay - we’ll see in the morning. Goodnight buddy.”

“Goodnight… Shoal is a really weird name.”

“My name is ‘Ash’ and we know someone named ‘N’.”

“The ‘N’ stands for something though!”

“You’re right Pikachu, ‘Natural’ is a completely normal name.”

“...I have no point of reference for names, to be fair.”

* * *

Ash and Pikachu managed to fall asleep again, finally, and Ash was having a really involved dream where he was a Wailmer that had somehow gotten stuck on top of a skyscraper. Just as Lance was called in to extricate him, Ash was woken up again. He looked up and saw a weird figure looming over him with a comically-large mallet. “Aa-rrghfhfh.” This time the figure was the one who muffled Ash, by falling on him, because Pikachu was ready this time and nailed him with a thunderbolt.

Ash sat up and looked - and was really confused now. “Professor Oak?”

Professor Oak got up, rubbing his hands. “Ash my boy, I can explain - wait. Where did you get that Pikachu?”

“What, Pikachu? I met him this morning - or yesterday morning, actually.” Ash said, looking at his alarm clock. Huh, it wasn’t broken this time - wait.

“Professor Oak, why are you here?”

“Yeah, why were you holding a big hammer over my trainer?”

If Professor Oak was surprised by Pikachu talking he didn’t show it. “Oh, I must have caught the wrong - that’s alright then. Well Ash… I can’t explain this.”

Ash rubbed his eyes, “Were you trying to hit me, Pikachu, or my alarm clock?”

“Your alarm.” Professor Oak answered quickly.

Ash shook his head, “Well that’s good to know. Um... I don’t want you to destroy my alarm.”

Professor Oak shook his head, “Truthfully, I don’t want to destroy it anymore either.” He looked at Pikachu again.

Just as Ash was trying to find a way to get Professor Oak to leave so he could pretend that this was just a weird dream and not damning evidence, there was a thump from his window.

“Fro… Froakie.”

Ash and Pikachu looked on in surprise as a very young Froakie - Ash knew that Froakie - made his way to Ash’s bedside. “...Froakie?” Ash asked in shock.

“Ash, he was on the list.” Pikachu said.

Professor Oak looked in shock at Froakie, who he also seemed to recognize, and shook his head. “I shouldn’t be shocked, knowing you, but even then this is very odd.”

“Bulbasaur!” Came a shout from Ash’s window, and Ash, Pikachu, Froakie, and Professor Oak all looked on as a Bulbasaur, no, _Ash’s_ Bulbasaur pulled himself into the room.

Professor Oak looked very shocked now, “You aren’t the Bulbasaur I have waiting at my lab, are you?”

Bulbasaur shook his head. “Bulba!”

Professor Oak nodded, “Ash, forget that I was here.”

Ash just stared at his Pokemon, very surprised but also weirded out. He didn’t notice Professor Oak leave through the window, he just stared.

Finally he shook his head. “I’ll explain to you both in the morning, just… come up here and let’s go to sleep?” Both Pokemon shrugged, and jumped onto his bed - three Pokemon sleeping on him wasn’t ideal, but Ash wouldn’t begrudge any of them. He sincerely hoped he wouldn’t have any more nighttime visits though, this was too much.

* * *

The next time Ash woke up, the sun was shining, thankfully. And his alarm was blaring, that was good. He tried moved his left arm to turn it off, but found that it was arrested by Charizard. Okay, so he’d use his right arm - Squirtle was there. Ash tried to sit up, but Bulbasaur and Pikachu were on his chest, and as he turned his head he saw Froakie looking at him. “Froakie… did they show up in the night?”

Froakie nodded. 

Just then Ash noticed Snorlax trying to squeeze himself through the window, with Pidgeot pushing from the other side.

His eyes were drawn to Kiawe and Sophocles sleeping in one corner of his room, and then to the other side of the room where Sir Aaron’s staff was propped up against the wall and Lucario was eating a sandwich that looked suspiciously like it was made by Cilan.

“Okay… I… I thought I knew what was going on, but now even I’m confused.”

Froakie shrugged, “Join the club.”

Ash’s eyes bulged, and then he actually woke up.

* * *

“Pikachu?”

“Yeah Ash?”

“If you see a Darkrai, Thunderbolt first ask questions later.”

“Right. Nightmare?”

“No… just… really weird.”

“Froakie froak.”

“Pikachu, could you-”

“He said ‘it’s part of the unfreezing process’, Froakie when did you watch Austin Powers?”

“Fro, fro fro froakie.”

Pikachu shook his head, “He claims it was an ‘egg movie’, and I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be a pun or not.”

“Okay I’m not even going to question that - Froakie, I’m sorry but you’ll have to wait a few months to battle.”

Froakie seemed a bit disappointed, but nodded, he was physically 2 months old after-all.

“Bulbasaur, you okay buddy?”

Bulbasaur nodded, “Saur!”

“He says he made sure the hidden valley he was protecting knew that he was leaving - apparently that Pokemon doctor was really happy for him, if confused?”

“Bulb!” Bulbasaur nodded vigorously.

“Okay…” Ash said, “Okay.” And then he finally noticed that his alarm was blaring and turned it off.

“Give me a few minutes to get ready and we’ll go eat breakfast.”

“Fro!”

“Bulb!”

“Pika-pika!”

Ash chuckled as Froakie and Bulbasaur shot Pikachu a pair of weirded-out looks.

* * *

“Ash” his mom asked, “explain it again, from the top.”

“Well, I had just gotten to sleep when I heard a loud noise coming from my window, so I went to look and saw a really big Flying-type carrying Froakie!”

“I did hear some noises last night.” Mom admitted.

“Hm, and tell us again how you encountered Bulbasaur?” asked grandpa.

“He was trying to help Froakie, so when Pikachu shocked the flying-type, he caught Froakie with his vines.”

“Right.” Grandpa said, straightening his back. “Delia, he attracts danger like his father.”

“No.” Mom said, for some reason.

“Delia it’s for his own safety-”

“Father, no. We agreed, you can be in his life, but you can’t expose him to _that _until he’s older.”

“He’s an adult now, legally, I should just tell him-”

“Father, please, at least wait until the Indigo Conference.”

Was grandpa a superhero like Gilgarman? Ash thought Gilgarman was cool, but he wouldn’t want to be involved with that sort of thing - he already saved the world twice a year, he wasn’t interested in being a superhero. Well, aside from that Alolan Rangers thing - Ash wasn’t sure why an actual task-force hadn’t been put together to deal with the Ultra-Beasts, but that wasn’t something he had to worry about for a long while.

“Mom, Grandfather, I kind of need to go to Professor Oak’s ranch soon?”

Mom looked at him, “Ash, the early meeting is so that everyone can choose their Starters. You have three.”

“Four.” Grandpa interjected.

“You have four Starters.” Mom allowed. “I think Professor Oak will understand if you show up a bit late to pick up your Pokedex.”

“Mom, I need to meet with Gary so we can travel together!”

Grandpa looked pleased, “Ah, you and Gary have put aside your differences, I approve. He is an intelligent child, takes after he grandfather… who is of course _The_ Pokemon Professor. Yes, go meet with him so you may travel together, by all means.”

Mom rolled her eyes, but let Ash and his Pokemon leave. “We’ll be waiting outside the Lab for you and the others to come out, okay Ash?”

“Okay mom, see you in a few minutes!” Ash called, sailing out the door with his Pokemon either in his arms or following close behind.

Giovanni shook his head, “Delia, he’s so charismatic he caught three Pokemon in one day without even being a trainer. He’s networking without even knowing it, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up travelling with a future Elite Four member or a Top Co-Ordinator, or possibly a young Jenny!”

“Father, we agreed, no contact with Team Rocket until he figures it out, and then only if he agrees.”

Giovanni shook his head, “Delia I love you both, but I will not have his potential squandered like his father’s was, or his uncle’s was.”

“Or mine was? Is that what you want to say, that I’m wasting my own potential?”

“... Yes.”

Delia and her father stared at each-other before she shook her head and turned away, “I’m going to wait outside the lab - are you coming?”

Giovanni sighed, and then followed her out. He meant well, and he really did love his family, but why did they have to be so difficult?

* * *

Gary looked up as Ash finally came in, “Ashy-boy, you’re almost late!”

“Yeah Ash” Billy said, looking worried, “you almost missed the chance to get a starter!”

“Ash… Ash why do you have three Pokemon with you?” Jane asked, apparently the most observant of the three.

Gary looked surprised, then jealous, then amused. “Only you, Ash.”

Professor Oak walked in, “Ah, I see my young trainers have all shown up. Now, what I would normally do is offer you all a choice between Kanto’s three official starter Pokemon - however, I made a mistake. I only ordered 3 starters, so I’m afraid one of you is going to have to miss out.” Professor Oak chuckled.

“Awww, I really wanted to have a Pokemon journey…” Billy said, kicking the floor.

Jane and Gary looked at him like he was stupid, and even Ash thought he was being a bit dense.

“What?”

Professor Oak shook his head, “The three of you - yes Billy, you too - have a choice - Charmander, the fire-type starter, Bulbasaur, the grass-type starter, or Squirtle, the-”

“Dibs on Squirtle!” Gary said before his grandfather could finish,

“Ooh, I want Bulbasaur!”

“I want Charmander, they’re really cool! Or not, they’re really hot, but that’s cool!” Billy said, careful not to confuse himself.

Professor Oak smiled, “Ah, I love it when they don’t argue. Now to the part that’s important for my job - lackeys.”

Jane looked confused, “What?”

Gary looked jealous, “Yeah, that’s why every academic wants to be a Pokemon Professor, they get to mine the Pokedex for information on everything it scans, Pokemon, people, rocks, ruins, anything.”

Professor Oak nodded, looking a little surprised at his grandson’s apparent jealousy, “Gary’s right, it’s time for me to give you all your Pokedexes - now remember, this is a piece of scientific equipment. There is a button to dial emergency services, and it serves as an ID, and allows you to switch out your Pokemon on the go - however this is not a toy, nor is it a communications device. It is a tool that will record information on Pokemon you find, and will give you pertinent information on new Pokemon you encounter. Only Trainers who get their Starter from a Pokemon Professor get these, so take good care of them.”

“...but Professor, Ash didn’t get his Starters from you, did he?” Asked Billy.

“Good catch Billy.” At that, the Professor threw a Pokeball to Ash. “There you go, I went through a stroll in the forest last night and this Pokemon caught my eye. Wouldn’t be much use to me here.”

The three other trainers watched, surprised, as Ash opened his Pokeball. “...huh.” He said, looking at the Pichu.

“Pi, pichu!” The Pichu stated.

“Ash, this is actually my cousin.” Pikachu said, speaking up for the first time and causing Billy and Jane to jump.

“Wow - nice to meet you, Pichu! Do you want to travel with us?”

“Pichu pi!” The tiny mouse stated, then she jumped up and nuzzled her cousin.

“Well, that’s settled then, all of you have received Starters from me, have you not? So, here are your Pokexes, take good care of them, and remember: when in doubt, scan!”

As Professor Oak ushered them out, they picked up their belts - 5 Pokeballs on each, and a spot for one more, as well as a slot to put the Pokedex. Everyone slotted their Lab Starter’s Pokeball into that slot, and Ash quickly caught his three other Starters.

Then, in unison, all four new trainers walked out of Professor Oak’s lab.

Straight into a parade.

Ash had forgotten this, and it seemed that Gary had too.

Gary’s sister ran out and hugged him, and Ash was given the same treatment by his mom and even his usually reserved grandpa, and he saw in his peripheral vision that Billy and Jane were also getting hugged by their respective families. After four teary goodbyes, Billy and Jane walked to the edge of town, and then off to find their respective futures.

Ash and Gary drove to the edge of town, with Ash playing look-out to make sure they didn’t run over any stray Ditto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Froakie/Greninja was one the list of 6 that were definitely being brought back - notice how only 5 were explicitly named?  
I have the third chapter mostly written, just have to figure out how to end it so I can start on the fourth chapter! I think I'll try to post on Fridays, maybe earlier in the morning? Don't really have much to say right now, feeling weirdly drained, hope y'all enjoy!


	3. PokePatch Ash.3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash and Gary have a battle, meet friends old and new... and also enemies. At least it's only old enemies and not new ones.

“So Ashy-boy, where are we headed first?” Gary asked, eyes on the wheel, because Ash’s eyes were on the road.

“Actually we’ll be stopping soon, Misty should be fishing up ahead.”

“Yeah, we haven’t bothered that annoying flock of Spearow this time.” Pikachu nodded.

“Actually they may all be caught soon… remember we told grandpa that a giant Fearow was trying to eat you?”

Pikachu nodded, “Oh yeah.”

“What’s with your grandpa anyway?” Gary asked, “He’s - he was dead last time, right, and definitely not the Viridian City Gym Leader?”

“Yeah, I’m blaming Arceus.” Ash said, “Oh slow down, there’s a pothole.”

“Ash, I’m glad I’m not you - at least you never knew your granddad before, I was raised by mine, could you imagine if he’d been someone completely different?”

“I was imagining your sister being replaced by Daisy Waterflower, actually.”

Gary winced, “Wow, no thanks. Speaking of the Waterflowers, how far are we from Misty? I forgot how surreal driving felt, I understandably haven’t done it since the Indigo Conference.”

“I think Pikachu and I met her right arrround here - but that was close to lunchtime.” Ash said, looking at his watch.

Gary slowed down and parked at the side of the road - more like a path, actually. “Huh, okay. So you have your Bulbasaur now, right?”

“Yeah?” Ash looked at Gary, and their eyes met. “Oh, right. Yeah!”

Gary grinned.

* * *

Gary stopped grinning as Bulbasaur took one look at his Squirtle and immediately evolved. “Ash, explain this.”

“Don’t ask me, he spent over 7 years as a Bulbasaur with no hint of wanting to evolve, I have no idea.”

“Ivy, Ivysaur!” Ivysaur stated.

“He says he felt it was fitting,” Pikachu translated, “I’m not sure why…”

“Squirtle squirt! Squirt squirt squirtle, squirtle squirt!”

Pikachu started laughing, and both trainers looked at him. “What, what did Squirtle say that’s so funny?” Gary asked.

“He - ka-ka-ka - wow - Gary, that’s not Squirtle.”

“...please tell me he’s not a Ditto.” Gary begged, and Squirtle scoffed, and then evolved as well.

Both trainers stared at their second-stage Starters.

“Ash, is this… because of Arceus?” Gary asked.

Ash shook his head, “Probably? I’m not the Arceus expert.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Gary said, shrugging. “Wartortle, use Water Cannon!”

“Wart wart!” Wartortle quacked, and fired off the attack.

Ash gave no orders, and Ivysaur stood still and took the attack. “Gary… I’m usually the one who forgets type resistances and immunities.”

Gary blinked, then smacked himself in the face. “In my defence I’d mostly transitioned to research and put battle to the side.”

“Gary you’re still telling me that a Pokemon researcher forgot that Grass-types were immune to Water-type attacks.”

Gary shrugged, “Yeah. Wartortle, run up and ram him!”

Ash’s eyes widened, “Ivysaur, use Vine Whip to grab one of the branches above you and swing over him!”

Ivysaur and Wartortle followed their respective trainers’ commands, and ended up on opposite sides of their impromptu battlefield.

“Quick Ivysaur, use Vine Whip again and smack Wartortle!”

“Wartortle dodge!”

“Ivysaur, don’t let him dodge!”

“Wartortle, don’t let him stop you from dodging!”

Ash turned his hat backwards, and Gary in retaliation turned his medallion backwards. It didn’t quite have the same effect, but neither trainer cared.

“Okay Ivysaur, use Sleep Powder!”

“Wartortle, use Hydro Pump to shoot yourself into the air!” Gary called out.

Ash looked at Gary oddly and he shrugged in response. Ash looked back at Ivysaur, “Okay buddy - you know what, use Sunny Day.”

Ivysaur used Sunny Day, and then added some oomph by shooting a Razor Leaf at Wartortle as well. Wartortle fumbled, because while he’d done what his trainer asked he wasn’t really used to balancing on a stream of water, and when Ash had Ivysaur send another volley of Razor Leaves, he destabilized and hit the ground.

“Okay Wartortle, you did good. Return.” Gary returned his Pokemon, and nodded to Ash. “That’s the best I can expect from fighting a League Champion.”

Ash blushed, “I appreciate that - but remember, you can’t say it until I win the Manalo - or, uh, the Alola Conference again.”

Gary blinked, “Ash, you’re not 10 anymore, you worked through your stupid phase. If you don’t have at least one win by the time we’re mentally 20 I’ll be surprised.”

Ash groaned, realizing something, “Gary, we’re 10. We’re 10! Almost all of our other friends are 7 years younger than we knew them!”

Gary grimaced, “Ash, I mean this in the nicest way possible, even though we’re probably each-other’s only real romantic options, I don’t think-”

They were both stopped by the sound of a bicycle pulling up. “....hello?” Misty asked as she got off her bicycle. “I came up here to do some fishing, were you two…” She glanced at the car, then shrugged “Having a battle or a picnic?”

“I’m Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and this is Gary Oak” Gary waved, “and we just started on our Pokemon Journeys!”

Misty cooed, “And you’re travelling together?”

They both nodded.

“Aw, that’s so sweet! I’ll be rooting for you two!”

Gary turned in shock and looked at Ash, who just looked confused. “Mis- ow, Gary- oh, Miss, can I ask your name?”

Misty beamed, “Misty Waterflower, from Cerulean city! I’m a Water-type specialist. What about you, I see you have a Pikachu and… an Ivysaur? How did you evolve him so fast?”

“He evolved while battling my Starter.” Gary stated baldly, “Wartortle evolved too, actually.”

Misty grinned, “Nice, I’m guessing Ash won though, if his Ivysaur’s still out?”

Ash nodded, “Yeah, why?”

“Well, you won against your boy,” Ash finally understood what Misty was saying and spluttered, “how about a bout against me? I’ll even use my Starter!”

“He’s not - Gary and I aren’t -” Ash stopped and thought about something, “Okay, sure! A Pokemon Battle sounds great, Starters against Starters?”

Misty nodded, “Let’s send them out on three, okay? Want to referee, Gary?”

Gary, fast on the uptake, grinned. “Okay. One… two… three… GO!”

Misty threw a lure ball, “Go, Gyarados!”

Ash stared, even as his Starters all rushed to the field, or manifested in the cases of Pichu and Froakie.

Misty stared too, then sighed. “I was going to try to surprise you, but you have four Starters? Seriously?”

Ash chuckled, “Five actually.”

Both Misty and Gary stared. “Five?” Gary asked faintly.

“Yeah, my grandpa is going to give me a Meowth when we stop by Viridian. It’s apparently non-negotiable.” Ash shrugged, “Meowths are cool enough, you know, and it’s kind of funny that I’m starting with almost a full team.”

“You know, our meeting didn’t happen like this last time… not even close, really. Gary’s from the future too, I assume?” Misty asked.

Ash nodded, “Yeah - and all my current Pokemon except for Pichu. She’s new.”

“Pi! Pi-chu!”

Gary turned to Ash incredulously, “Ash, did you bring Misty back?”

“Yeah!”

“And you brought Ivysaur and Froakie back.”

“Yeah?”

“Let me guess, Brock is back too.”

“Well, yeah-”

“You could only bring two people back, huh?”

Ash chuckled weakly, “You said that, not me… Misty, uh, I thought Staryu was your Starter? Or Starme?”

Misty shrugged, “Both of them are, but I wanted to surprise you, so I spent all yesterday finding the Magikarp that would evolve into my Gyarados. It was hard, let me tell you, but we connected and spent all day training!”

Ash grinned, “That’s great, Misty! You know… we have a car this time, do you want to head over to Hop-Hop-Hop town early and catch your Psyduck?”

Misty shuddered, “Ash, please.”

Ash was genuinely taken aback, “Don’t you miss him?”

Misty looked at Ash flatly, “Do you miss your Rotom?”

Ash nodded, then winced. “Okay, yeah good point, wait until he joins naturally, absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

Gary sighed, then perked up. “Misty - do you know how to drive?”

Misty shook her head, “I’m only 13 - wait no I’m 20, but I never learned how to drive because I didn’t really see a point… and I’m 13. Ash, I hate you.”

Ash laughed nervously… woops.

* * *

“So basically, we’re all back in time to keep you company?” Misty asked incredulously.

Ash shrugged, “I guess, but I’m not going to force you to stick around - anyone who wants to go do their own thing can, I’m just happy you all remember who I am!”

“Eh, like I said yesterday, I’ll stick with you for a while - lots of research opportunities, plus this time I think I’ll keep my Pokemon in fighting shape even when I ‘decide’ to go into academia.” Gary said, absently peeling a banana from his packed lunch.

Ash took out a paper napkin that was full of rice balls and passed them around to his friends and their various Pokemon, “That’s good to know - what about you Misty? Want to stick around, or you gonna go run Cerulean Gym early?”

Misty took a rice ball consideringly, “You know, now that I heard why we were sent back in time… It’d be good to take over the Gym early… but I can’t do that.”

“Your sisters wouldn’t let you?” Pikachu asked, swallowing a mouthful of rice.  
“No it’s not that - they’d probably be happy, none of them really like battling, but I need to catch all my old Pokemon first. I could probably be a good gym leader with just my Starters, Goldeen, and Gyarados, but I’m friends with all my Pokemon and want to meet them again.”

Gary and Ash nodded, both understanding. “You know” Gary said, “a lot of people don’t actually think of their Pokemon as family members…”

“Oh yeah, you’re right.” Ash nodded, “I’m used to Alola where most people do, or if not then they at least respect Pokemon for more than their strength… it’s probably because of the relationship with the Island Guardians, and the fact that the Island Challenge is explicitly more than just strength.”

Misty nodded, “Yeah that makes sense… In a lot of regions Starters are the closest people get to thinking of their Pokemon as family, and most people who don’t get long-lived Starters end up losing theirs to old age in a couple years…”

Gary sighed, “I think I’ve had the most experience with that type of person, actually - do you know how many Pokemon researchers don’t think Pokemon are intelligent? Any Pokemon? Even though there’s an entire Type that can speak to us using their minds?”

“Wack.” Pikachu stated.

“Saur, Ivy sauur.” Ivysaur nodded sagely, chewing on a sage leaf.

“Wart wart, wartor tortle.” Wartortle declared, chewing on a small freshwater Magikarp he’d fished out of the river.

“...wait, I thought the Squirtle line were herbivores?” Misty asked, a bit freaked out.

“Go Pokedex!” Ash shouted ridiculously, noticing but ignoring the incredulous stares that Misty and Gary sent him. He was 10 again… had always been around 10 physically, actually, so he might as well act like it.

“Wartortle, the shellfish Pokemon. Wartortle are - anomaly detected, Wartortle consuming fish. Recording anomalous behaviour.”

“Well that wasn’t very helpful.” Misty commented, rolling her eyes - and then gasping and turning her entire head. “Guys, look!”

Ash and Gary looked, and Ash yelled, “I knew I saw Ho-Oh! I knew it! Right buddy?”

“Yeah!” Pikachu yelled, excited.

“Okay, right - Pikachu, Ivysaur, Pichu… and you too Froakie - get ready!”

“Froak!”

“Pi-chu!”

“Saur, Ivysaur!”

“We’re all ready, Ash!” Pikachu said, fur bristling.

“You… you’re going to try to battle Ho-Oh with 4 Pokemon who haven’t had any physical training.” Misty didn’t really ask, she didn’t need to. She’d known Ash for 7 years.

“He grew out of his stupid phase alright, but I guess he didn’t have a smart phase to grow into.” Gary shook his head.

“Okay Pikachu, let’s get his attention, it would be rude otherwise!”

“Thunderbolt!” Pikachu declared, shooting a mid-powered bolt of lightning right next to Ho-Oh’s head.

“Ho! Ho!” Ho-Oh cried very loudly.

“Gary” Ash said distractedly, “You have a Pokedex too.”

“Oh right…” Gary said, pulling out his Pokedex and scanning Ho-Oh.

“Scanning, Scanning - Ho-Oh, the Rainbow Phoenix Pokemon -  it possesses seven-colored wings. It is said that those who see Ho-Oh are promised eternal happiness.”

“Ho Ho Ho-Oh!” Ho-Oh cried, and flew off rather than coming down for a battle.

“Ash” Misty shook her head, “you realize not every Pokemon wants to battle you?”

Ash shrugged, “Yeah, that’s why I had to make it an offer - it would be rude to just start attacking him from the ground.”

“...good point.” Misty allowed. “I forgot you weren’t actually a dumb 10-year-old anymore.”

“Right.” Gary agreed, “He only looks like a dumb 10-year-old, he’s really a dumb 17-year-old.”

As Ash was about to respond, Pikachu called, “Hey, is it me or did Ho-Oh drop a feather?”

Ash jumped up unnecessarily and grabbed it. “Huh.” He said, looking it over. “That’s definitely a Rainbow Wing Feather.”

“Wait a second, I think I’ve heard of this.” Misty said. “Ho-Oh’s Rainbow Feather is supposed to lead you to him, he only gives it to trainers he thinks are worthy.”

“And there’s only one feather here.” Gary said, “So only one of us is worthy.”

Gary and Misty looked at Ash. Ash looked back. Pikachu coughed.

“Anyway” Misty said, changing the subject slightly, “what are we going to do with that feather? Do you want to follow it to Ho-Oh?”

Ash shrugged, “Do I need to? If something starts happening with Ho-Oh we’ll probably be right in the middle of it.”

Misty groaned, “I left before that became a Thing, remember?”

“Right right, I keep forgetting you weren’t at Shamouti, or that thing in Johto with the fake Entei, or that other thing in Johto with Latias and Latios.” Ash said faux-placatingly.

Misty shrugged and sighed, “Don’t you ever want a normal life?”

“This is my normal.” Ash said seriously, and then had to dodge Gary trying to poke him.

“No, bad Ash.” Gary said, “Don’t brood or whatever that was. Bad!” He succeeded in poking Ash, who squeaked in protest. 

“Is there anything you need to do in this forest Ash?” Misty asked, stretching. “I found Goldeen yesterday so I’m fine to go meet Team Rocket now.”

“Oh yeah, we did meet them today didn’t we?” Ash perked up, “Right, let’s clean up and go on to Viridian City!"

* * *

**Ash and his friends cleaned up after their impromptu picnic, conscientious visitors to a forest inhabited by many wild Pokemon, and made their way to Viridian city. Little did they know of the mysterious plot that awaited them there.**

* * *

“Boss?” James asked, only slightly cowering. “You called us in?”

“Yes.” The shrouded boss of Team Rocket said ominously, “I wanted to confirm, you plan on raiding the Pokemon Center today?”

The three-member Rocket cell nodded, “Yeah Boss,” the odd talking Meowth said, “we’re gonna nab a lot of strong Pokemon who won’t be able ta fight back on account a’ them bein’ sick!”

“...why do you have an accent, by the way?” Giovanni asked, leaning forward in his chair.

“What?” Meowth asked, surprised. “An accent, I don’t have an accent. Do I, Jessie?”

Jessie twitched and shook her head.

“James?”

James shrugged, “I’ve never been to Brooklyn so I’m sure I wouldn’t know.”

Meowth shrugged, “Didn’t undastand that, but yeah Boss I don’t have an accent.”

Giovanni shrugged, “It is no matter. There is a change of plans.” The Rocket cell perked up at this and looked eager. “You will still target the Pokemon center - but you will retreat if and when you face significant opposition from an Electric-type.”

James raised his hand, and once Giovanni nodded he asked “Boss… why?” Giovanni glared, and James yelped. “Never mind, boss!”

“Understood, Boss!” Jessie said quickly, saluting and taking their boss’ attention off of James.

“Meowth, that’s right!” Meowth declared, also saluting, and James quickly etched his own salute as their boss dismissed them from his office.

“Where is Brooklyn, anyway?” Jessie asked, curious. “It sounds Kalosian, or Galarian? Maybe Roman or Iberian?”

James shook his head, “It’s American, actually, specifically in the Unova region.”

“Huh.”

“Did youse see that Persian a’his sittin’ there on his lap?” Meowth asked as they exited the Rocket base. “That’s a fine specimen of cat, lemme tell ya - not as fine as me a’course… Wish I was the boss’ favorite cat.”

“I wonder why the boss wants us to run from Electric-types?” Jessie pondered as they made their way to the Pokemon center.

“Maybe it’s because he’s afraid’a’dem!” Meowth suggested.

“Yes, it makes sense.” James stopped, hand on his chin, slowly going from a pensive look to a grin, “The Boss has a deep-seated fear of Electric-types - why else would he have become a Ground-type Gym Leader? So his caution to run from Electric-types means that he’s begun to care for us. And you know what that means.”

Jessie’s eyes sparkled, “James, could it be…”

Meowth jumped, wooping in joy: “We’re finally gonna get paid!”

The three Rockets whooped in joy and raced for the Pokemon Center.

* * *

“Ash,” Gary asked, wishing he was half a foot taller, “Are you seriously not seeing any parking spaces?”

“Nope.” Ash confirmed.

“You two do realize that almost everywhere in Kanto is walking distance, right?” Misty snarked, also on the look-out for a parking lot. “There has to be an open space somewhere, but there’s not really a point in driving most places, is there? It’s not like we caught all our old Pokemon in drive-by battles.”

Gary shrugged, “Yeah, now that I think about it this car’s more trouble than it’s worth… looks cool, though.”

“Wait, I have an idea…. Everyone, get out of the car.” Ash said, and after all the humans and Pokemon complied, he pulled out a Pokeball.

“Ash, what are you…” Misty asked, then paled. “I don’t know if that’s-”

She was cut off by Ash throwing his Pokeball at Gary’s car, which surprisingly went into it. The Pokeball shook once, twice, thrice, and then dinged. Ash’s Pokedex spoke up “You have caught: automobile. Transmitting this information to Professor Oak.”

“...yeah I think following you around is going to give me a LOT of stuff to research.” Gary decided. “My research specialization was going to be Alternate Dimensions, purely because so many different ones were suddenly popping up and there was a need for dedicated scholarship on the subject, but maybe this time I should specialize in ‘the Ash phenomenon’.”

Ash laughed, then pointed: “Right, onwards to the Pokemon Center!”

“Yeah, let’s go!” With those words, Pikachu leapt up onto Ash’s shoulder and they led the way.

“Is it me or is Ash getting back into the groove of being a 10-year-old really easily?” Misty asked as she and Gary sedately made their way to the Center.

“Eh, poor guy’s been treated like he was 10 for 7 years, hasn't he? Maybe he has a complex.” Gary shrugged, “You know, I didn’t really grow after I hit my 13th birthday, so I looked 13 for around 5 years before Ash apparently fulfilled his ‘true destiny’, and I had a bit of a complex.”

Mist blinked, “Actually, now that you mention it I looked the same for 7 years, and so did Brock, not including art-style changes...”

Gary shrugged, “It’s just one of those things that happens, you know I caught my grandpa dying his hair the day we first came back?”

“That’s not so weird, old people do that.” Misty replied as they walked through the Pokemon Center’s door.

“Yeah but do most old people dye their hair grey?”

“...huh.” Misty said, scratching her head. “How old is he, again?”

“60-something, I think.” Gary shrugged.

“....probably Celebi’s fault, somehow.” Misty decided, and then sped up so that Gary wouldn’t have a chance to question that.

They caught part of Ash’s conversation with the local Nurse Joy. “Ah, here they are! Yeah I don’t think any of Misty’s Pokemon are injured, but Gary’s Wartortle needs a heal, right?” After both his human travel companions nodded, Ash nodded too. “Right.”

“Alright, sounds good - if you give me your Wartortle’s Pokeball I’ll take these all to the back and check them over!”

“Thanks, here you go.” Gary handed over his Starter, and Ash handed over all his Pokemon, with Pikachu jumping onto Nurse Joy’s shoulder.

“...Ash, only Ivysaur battled.”

“Yeah, but only Ivysaur and Froakie were born in captivity - and Froakie’s really young. I want them all to have a check-up and maybe get some vaccines. I want my Pokemon to be happy and healthy, not just battle-ready.” Ash replied.

“Tha’s good thinking, that is!” Came a booming voice behind Ash, and he and Misty turned, with Gary looking up, to see a very large man with a bushy beard. “Takin’ proper care of ye’ Pokemon is one o’ the most important parts o’ bein’ a Trainer, glad ta see tha’ sort o’ behaviour from the younger gen’ration.” He nodded his head and held out a massive hand. “Hagrid, Rubeus Hagrid, pleasure t’meet ya.”

Ash grinned and shook Hagrid’s hand. “I’m Ash Ketchum, and these are my friends Gary Oak and Misty Waterflower!”

Misty smiled and shook Rubeus’ hand, “Nice to meet you Mr. Hagrid - are you from Galar? We don’t see Galarians here all that often.”

“Galar? Oh yeah, tha’s what every’un calls England.” Rubeus shrugged, “Yeah tha’s where ahm from - not a bad place, really, but there are a lot o’ nasty folks. Then again, lots o’ good folks too, shouldn’t judge.” He shrugged, “So any of ye doin’ th’ Gym Challenge?”

“Yeah, Ash-boy and I are.” Gary confirmed.

“I might do it too, actually.” Misty said, stroking her chin. “I’m a Water-type specialist, you mostly see generalists at Conferences.”

Hagrid grinned, “Nice, I’m doin’ th’ Gym Challenge here too - it’d be a pleasure ta face any of ye in the Conference, ye seem like ye’ll be fine trainers.”

As the four of them chatted, a lone Meowth walked through the door, looked around, and grinned. “Poifect.” He then ran out, and immediately the Center filled with green smoke.

Ash looked up, and his eye twitched. He racked his brain, what had he said... “What are - who are they?”

Misty sighed, then perked up, “Ash I think that’s Team Rocket.” Ash looked at her like she was stupid, and she gestured at Rubeus. “They’re Pokemon thieves.”

Rubeus looked furious, “Pokemon thieves?” He shook his head, “Disgraceful, that is.” Then he spat off to the side.

“...right. Ash, follow my lead.”

Ash was confused, but nodded along.

A figure in the smoke cleared her throat, and said “Don’t be frightened, little trainers.” Then she saw Rubeus and the sheer size of the Galarian giant and gulped, but didn’t back down.

“Allow us to introduce ourselves…” Said a second figure.

The smoke dramatically cleared around the figures, and Jessie began “To protect the world from-”

And then Misty stepped forward dramatically. “To protect the world from devastation!”

Ash ran forward and added, “To denounce all evils within our nation!”

“To den- ugh, Ash... To… unite the people with truth and love.” Misty continued.

“To extend our reach to the stars above!” Ash finished.

“Misty!” Misty put her hand up dramatically.

“Ash.” Ash put his hand on his hat.

“Team Rocket, go blast off at the speed of light!” Misty commanded.

“Yeah, surrender now or prepare to fight!” Ash said, putting his fists in front of him as if he intended to actually punch Team Rocket.

“Meowth, that just ain’t right!” Meowth spoke up from behind Jessie and James.

“Ohhh we were just going to steal your Pokemon, but now you’ve ripped off our motto!” Jessie yelled, furious.

“Be warned twerps, we don’t deal with plagiarizers lightly.” James frowned, gesturing into the cloud of noxious smoke. “Koffing!”

Jessie sent out her own Pokemon, “Ekans!”

“Let’s show these twerps why they shouldn’t cross Team Rocket.” Meowth said, stepping forward menacingly.

“Ash, I sent Wartortle with Nurse Joy, sorry.” Gary said, stepping back.

Ash paled, “Wait, all my Pokemon are with her too…”

“Hahaha, pathetic!” Jessie laughed.

“You twerps should have known better than to mess with Team Rocket with no Pokemon on hand.” James said, taking the rose out of his mouth and throwing it on the ground.

Misty sighed, “Do I have to do everything?” and then sent out her Gyarados, who promptly whined at how squished he was by the confines of the Pokemon center.

James paled, “Jessie, maybe we should-”

“That’s not an Electric-type James, remember what the Boss said.” Jessie replied confidently. “Besides, the more powerful their Pokemon are, the more they’re worth!”

Rubeus grunted, “So it’s Electric-types ye don’t like, eh? Try this on fer size!” and then he sent out an Ampharos.

James and Jessie both paled, and Meowth sighed. “Looks like Team Rocket’s blastin’ off, let’s scram.”

With that the Rocket Trio, with Koffing and Ekans quickly returned, ran out of the Pokemon center.

“Huh.” Ash said, scratching his head. “That was weird.”

“I know types like ‘em.” Rubeus shook his head, disgusted. “They act tough but th’ moment you put up real resistance they run off. Could be worse.” He shrugged, “There’re some types that don’ scare as easy, they just keep goin’, wan’ world domination or summat, those ye really have ta watch out for.”

Ash nodded, “Yeah… but I dunno, something about these guys seemed off, one look at your Ampharos and they ran, but they didn’t actually look afraid…”

“Yeah, they looked… a bit annoyed actually.” Misty shook her head. “Ash, did you-”

Ash shook his head, “No, Pikachu and I considered it, but no.”

“Ah, a Pikachu, fine Pokemon, very nice.” Rubeus rumbled approvingly. “I prefer ‘em bigger meself, but nothin’ wrong with a small Pokemon.” He turned to Misty, “As long as ‘e’s out, mind if I take a look at that Gyarados? ‘E’s a beaut!”

Misty smiled, putting aside Team Rocket concerns for now. “Sure! He evolved yesterday, actually, so he’ll probably enjoy the attention!”

Hagrid and Misty walked up the the Atrocious Pokemon, who immediately started preening - Ash and Gary shared a look and shrugged. “He’s got an Electric-type, can’t be a Water specialist.”

“You never know, Misty had a Togepi.”

Gary shrugged, “Eh, I guess that’s possible - strict Typing isn’t really enforced unless you’re a Gym Leader or an Elite Four member, and even then some Leagues let Gym Leaders and Elite Four members have a theme instead of a set type.”

Ash nodded, then giggled. “Wouldn’t it be funny if someone’s theme was Alolan Variants but they keep it a secret? So a League Champion doing the Elite Four challenge sends out a Fire-type to deal with that Elite Four member’s Exeggutor and…”

Gary laughed, “That sounds less like an Alolan theme and more like an unpredictable theme… that sounds like you, actually!”

Nurse Joy saved Ash from replying by bringing out their Pokemon. “Here you go, your Pokemon are all healed up - and Mr. Ketchum, I’ve prescribed some vitamins for Froakie, and given Pichu and Pikachu a few important vaccines - make sure to check in with the Joy at the next Pokemon Center you come across, and remember to have all your new captures examined!”

Ash grinned, “Will do, thanks Nurse Joy!”

“It’s always a pleasure to help thoughtful young Trainers.” Nurse Joy smiled, then looked around in confusion, “By the way, I heard some weird noises, and there’s… smoke? What happened?”

“Ah, nothing big - Team Rocket tried to steal everyone’s Pokemon, but Misty and Rubeus scared them away.” Ash said, picking Pikachu up and scratching him under his chin.

“Aww, I missed Team Rocket? I wanted to give them a good shock.” Pikachu complained, not really mad because his chin had been rather itchy.

“Aren’t they obsessed with you two? You’ll have your chance to beat them again.” Gary shrugged.

Nurse Joy rolled her eyes, “Which group was it? Their generic Grunts know better than to attack because we have a former League Champion who lives next door, the only members of Team Rocket who are bold and stupid enough to try are the group with a talking Meowth and the pair who get really angry if you mess their names up.”

“It were the ones with a talkin’ Meowth.” Rubeus said, walking up, apparently done fawning over Misty’s Gyarados. “Shame too, would’a loved ta have a full conversation wi’ a Pokemon.”

“Hi! My name’s Pikachu, nice to meet you!” Pikachu said, rolling out of Ash’s arms and climbing onto his shoulder.

Hagrid’s jaw dropped and his eyes actually misted up. He almost looked happier than when Misty had told him he could look at Gyarados. “M’names Rubeus, it’s a pleasure!”

* * *

“Ash.” Misty said as they finally made their way out of the Pokemon Center, with a promise to look for Rubeus on the Indigo Plateau if they didn’t meet again before that. “You do realize that this means Team Rocket was never impressed by Pikachu and aren’t obsessed with him?”

Ash shrugged, “It’ll work out, one way or another, I’m not worried.”

“Yeah, remember all that stuff they did that wasn’t about catching me? We’ll meet them again.” Pikachu affirmed.

“I don’t know why you’re so worried about not being chased by crazy Pokemon thieves.” Gary shook his head, “I figured you’d be happy not to have to deal with them.”

Ash and Misty looked at each-other and shrugged in unison. “Yeah, they’re not good guys - but they do love their Pokemon.” Misty said, Ash nodding along.

“Eh, okay. So what, we’re headed to the Viridian Gym now?”

“Yeah, I think grandpa lives somewhere else, but he’ll probably be there for work.” Ash said, shrugging. “And if not there’ll be someone there to tell us where to go, grandpa is… what’s that word… professional.”

“Wow, are you sure he’s really your grandfather?” Misty asked jokingly.

Ash shrugged, “He actually didn’t used to be…”

“Wha- oh… Oh. Ash, that’s really weird.” Misty said, a little bit horrified.

“Yeah.” Ash shrugged, “Oh, he’s the Viridian Gym Leader by the way.”

Misty stopped, speechless. “Ash, Giovanni Rocketto is your grandpa??”

Ash nodded, “Yeah?”

“‘Rocketto’, why does that name seem familiar…” Gary wondered.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe It’s because he runs a really successful corporation?!” Misty shouted, “He’s one of the toughest Gym Leaders in Kanto, he’s infamously strict, and weirdly shady but in a respectable way? How do you not know this??”

“To be fair he’s only been my grandpa for two days - Oh, hey Archer! That’s Archer, he works for grandpa.”

“Ash.” Archer said, nodding his head in deference. “Your Grandfather said that you would be coming. Are these two” he gestured at Misty and Gary, “with you?”

“Yep!” Ash nodded.

“Alright - follow me, although I’m sure you’ll learn the way soon enough.”

“Mr. Archer, right?” Misty asked, smiling, “I like your pants - very stylish, nice bell-bottoms!”

The man dressed all in white, save for his visible black undershirt, smiled. “Thank you. Who knows, you may end up in similar clothes one day.”

As Misty puzzled over his statement, they were led to a massive wooden door, which Archer knocked at.

“Who is it?”

“Archer - Boss, your grandson has arrived with a retinue.” Archer reported.

“Ah. Ash, I will be just a minute - Archer, take my grandson and his friends to the Administrators' Lounge.”

“Right.” With a brisk nod, Archer turned and led them further into the weirdly large Gym complex.

“Wow, we get to see Rocket Industries’ VIP break room? That’s so cool!” Misty gushed.

Archer looked back at them and smirked, “Oh yes, ‘Rocket Industries’ treats their executives and administrators very well.”

“Rocket Industries… Ash, you don’t think…” Pikachu began, not wanting to finish the thought.

“Hey that’s not fair Pikachu, I do think - most of the time.” Ash whined.

“That’s not what I - oh forget it, it’s probably a coincidence.” Pikachu shook his head.

“You know,” Archer said, looking back again, “that Pikachu is quite a rare specimen. I have only known one other Pokemon that can talk like that.”

Pikachu perked up, “Oh yeah? We know another one too, actually we met him today - he’s a Meowth.”

Archer winced, “Those idiots… Well, here we are. You have the run of the room - unfortunately, I have business to attend to, but I assure you that Mr. Rocketto will be here shortly.” He walked to the door, then turned back. “And by the way… at Rocket Industries we try to run a tight ship, make everything and everyone as efficient as possible. To that end, I would request that you not wander unsupervised - to not unnecessarily distract our employees, you understand.” With a slight bow, he left them to their own devices.

“Huh, weird guy.” Gary judged, then shrugged, “But nice enough, I guess. Ash, does this place have cable?”

“I’ve actually never been here before.” Ash chuckled, shrugging. “Probably does, you saw how fancy this place is.” Ash looked around the room and spotted a row of refrigerators, “Oh man, is that a fridge that only has soda in it? Do you guys want anything?”

“Green tea if one of those fridges has it, thanks.” Gary said, searching for a remote control.

“Ooh can you grab me an orange flavored soda, I don’t care what brand.” Misty asked, looking around the room in interest.

“Right.” Ash grabbed his friends their chosen drinks from the row of specific drink-only refrigerators, and got a cola for himself. Then he noticed there were a few computers in the room - huh, this really was a snazzy breakroom. Ash went over to check his mail, and to figure out how to re-introduce himself to Serena. He wanted to reconnect with as many of his friends as possible as soon as possible, regardless of whether or not they remembered him. “One from dad about the start of my journey… an offer to be an intern at Sylph Co.?”

“Weird, maybe it’s because your grandpa is in charge of a major corporation?” Pikachu guessed.

“Yeah maybe, oh this is weird… I have an email from Serena?”

“Maybe you missed it last time, I don’t think I saw you use a computer at all those first few weeks.”

“Ha ha, yeah, maybe... “ Ash shrugged, opening the email, and found… huh. “Gary, Misty, can you come over here and tell me if you see what I’m seeing?”

Gary and Misty shrugged and both walked over, reading over Ash’s shoulder.

“Is that French? I see a language I don’t know, if that’s what you’re asking.” Misty said, shrugging.

“Oh right, uh let me read it to you.” Ash said sheepishly, translating.

“...Ash, did you bring her back?” Misty asked, “Because if I didn’t know you I’d just say it was a slightly weird letter from a friend you’ve lost touch with who wants to reconnect, but the way this is worded…”

“Seriously man, did you bring everyone you knew back except for my Starter?”

“No, I didn’t have Serena on the list! That’s why I called you over, I wasn’t sure what was going on…”

At that Froakie manifested from his Pokeball, and Pichu and Ivysaur manifested as well and went to obtain refreshments for themselves. “Froakie, froak froak!”

“He says-”

“Pikachu, buddy, I appreciate the translation service, but if I don’t try to understand Pokemon by myself I’ll get lazy, I was about at the level where I could understand most of my Pokemon, more-or-less, I want to get back to and stay at that level.”

“Right, right, sorry. I’ll correct you if you need it?”

“Sounds good, thanks - so Froakie, you have something to say about Serena?”

“Froak, froak, froakie! Oakie froak!” His amphibian friend stated.

“So you’re saying… that Serena helped you? This time? How - wait, Kalos is on the other side of the world and you got here in one day, did Serena…?”

Froakie nodded, “Froak.”

“Arceus did say that he’d be sending some other people back.” Pikachu said, shrugging.

“Ash, you have all the luck…” Gary said, shaking his head. “Seriously, are all your friends and Pokemon going to be brought back?”

“As far as I’m concerned this luck balances out all of Ash’s bad luck. Though a lot of that ‘bad luck’ was actually the result of Team Rocket’s crazy schemes…” Misty trailed off.

“What I want to know is how Serena helped Froakie get here.” Pikachu said, “She’s what, a 10 year old girl right now? 9? And won’t really start her journey for 5 years… How did she get Froakie over here?”

“Froak, froakie.”

“I didn’t get that, but I’m assuming it’s the computer transfer system.” Ash said, slowly but surely hammering out a reply to Serena.

“Yeah, that’s the gist of what he said, though apparently she managed to make it so he was sent to a nearby Pokemon Center without the resident Joy noticing.”

“Froak, froaak.” Froakie croaked wisely.

Misty looked over Ash’s shoulder, “Ash, why do you know how to speak French? And write in French?”

“Why wouldn’t I know how to?” Ash scratched the back of his head, “I went to Kalos, I wouldn’t have gone if I didn’t speak French...”

“I assumed you got by speaking English.” Misty said, “I didn’t think you of all people would learn three different languages...”

“Yeah, Ash is weirdly good with languages.” Gary said, shrugging. “It’s the only subject he really excelled at in school.”

“Huh. I guess it never came up before since I only travelled with you in Japan.” Misty said, mildly surprised.

“I only know three, really.” Ash shrugged, “And I can write all three, I guess. It’s important for a Pokemon trainer to speak enough languages to get by on the road, isn’t it?”

“Most Pokemon trainers only go between 2 or 3 regions that all speak the same language, or two languages at most.” Gary said.

Misty nodded, “I always figured after Sinnoh you’d go back to Kanto and start hardcore training your Pokemon for Japan’s League Conference circuit, but you just… decided to go to Unova. In America.”

“I didn’t really ‘decide’ to go, it just happened.” Ash said, shrugging. “Can one of you proofread this letter for me?”

“Ash, we just covered why you being able to speak and read French is unusual.” Gary said, “You know I don’t know French and we just established that Misty doesn’t speak French…”

At that, the door opened, saving Ash from minor embarrassment.

Ash’s Grandpa walked in. “Ash, if you would come with me, it’s time to choose your Meowth.” He glanced at Gary and Misty, “Your friends can stay here for the time being. Your Pikachu may come with us.”

“Okay Grandfather. Come on, Pikachu! Gary, Misty, see you in a few minutes? Oh, Ivysaur’s in charge until I get back.” With that, Ash left to follow his grandfather.

“Is Ivysaur just in charge of Ash’s Pokemon until he gets back or… us too?” Misty asked, confused.

“Probably just his Pokemon… probably. I dunno, we were making fun of him earlier, could be a prank in payback.”

“Not really Ash’s style, he’s too good-natured now… I kind of want to know how his grandpa’s orange suit looks good.” Misty said, hand on her chin. “On anyone else it would look tacky, it’s an orange suit! But it just sorta… fits him.”

“It looks like it was made by a tailor, I guess he just likes the color? Not that big a deal to me, honestly.” Said the kid who always wore a purple sweater with a green and yellow yin/yang pendant.

“...actually same here, I don’t really pay attention to fashion, not like I can wear fancy clothes in the water.” Misty shrugged. “Just seemed a bit weird, an orange suit.”

“You know what’s weird? Using a Legendary Pokemon in a Gym Battle against a ten-year-old.” Gary said, shrugging. “Like, I guess he had his reasons…”

“Legendary Pokemon? I didn’t know he had a Legendary Pokemon… maybe there’s a reason he’s Ash’s granddad now.” Misty said, shrugging. They then stopped the conversation because Ivysaur finally located the remote control.

* * *

“Remember Ash, choose wisely.”

“...Grandfather, why are there two Littens in this litter?”

“Persian’s mate is a Torracat.” Ash’s grandpa said, “It makes their children longer-lived. I will be raising a Litten and a Meowth from this litter purrsonally… excuse me, personally. But you have first choice.” With that Giovanni gave Ash a little push. “Choose.”

Ash looked at the 5 felines - only 3 of which were on offer. Grandpa was weird, but he  _ was _ related to Ash, so maybe the weirdness was… retroactively genetic? Ash crouched down, smiling. “Hey cats! I’m Ash, your dad’s trainer’s grandson…. I want to be a Pokemon Master! Do any of you want to come with me?”

“Ash is a really good trainer!” Pikachu piped up. “And he loves all of his Pokemon - plus, right now he doesn’t have any obligate carnivores, so you’ll have all the meat for yourselves.”

Giovanni watched attentively. He was interested in how his grandson would approach this situation.

“Meowth!” One of the Meowths said, walking up to Ash and sniffing him. “Meowth?”

“Anyone who joins me will be one of my Starters, yeah.” Ash said, nodding.

Giovanni was impressed, he’d figured Ash would use that Pikachu to translate for him, which was understandable, but he seemed to be understanding the litter pretty well. Either that or he was a naturally-talented bluffer, which Giovanni knew wasn’t the case.

“Meowwwth.” One of the other Meowths called, walking up to Ash and rubbing against his leg.

“Litten.” A Litten piped up, walking closer to Ash, although they had both been warned that Ash was only going to be choosing a Meowth.

In less than two minutes Ash and Pikachu were surrounded by inquisitive felines. Giovanni was impressed.

“Wow uh…” Ash said, looking around at the purring cats. “Well... “ He looked down at his lap where one of the Meowths had situated herself. “Meowth, do you want to come with me?”

“Meowth!” All three Meowths cried.

“Sorry, I can only take one of you… um, I guess the one in my lap?”

“Meowth!” She called happily, and nuzzled an empty Pokeball on his belt.

“You have captured: Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon. Meowth loves to roam at night to gather coins and other objects that sparkle, but it spends most of the daylight hours sleeping.”

“...thanks, Pokedex. Well, I guess that’s one way to catch a Pokemon.” Ash said, carefully standing up amidst the pile of cats.

“Well done.” Giovanni said, nodding. “Now I suppose it is time to return you to your friends… Do you still plan on challenging the Cerulean Gym first?”

“Actually I kind-of want to start with Pewter.” Ash said, shrugging.

“Fair enough, you do have a Water-type and a Grass-type… although remember that most Rock-types found in Kanto have a secondary typing of Ground.” Giovanni said.

Ash looked at Pikachu, “Yeah… yeah I’ll remember.”

“Good. By the way… I can’t help but notice that all your Pokeballs are full. Which Pokemon did you catch?”

“Uh… well it’s not… really a Pokemon.”

Giovanni raised his eyebrows.

“It’s… Gary’s car.”

“...You know Ash, Rocket Industries could use you in our R&D department.”

“Uh… I’ll keep that in mind, Grandfather.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's chapter 3! Misty, Team Rocket, Giovanni, a couple of cats... Oh yeah, and Hagrid. This isn't a crossover with Harry Potter, he's kinda of a cameo, kind of an excuse to have Pokemon from Galar show up later. And also, I kinda feel like Hagrid would love being in the Pokemon world, like it's kinda his ideal state of being.
> 
> Chapter 4 will have at least two Gym Battles, plus Brock and what he's been up to. Forgive me if the end of this chapter seems a bit weird, I had some trouble with it.


	4. PokePatch Ash.4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Gary journey through Viridian Forest to Pewter! Pokemon are caught! A trainer is battled! And then, in Pewter, an old friend offers a worthy challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize for not updating for a while - I meant to update every Friday, but then I got the cold from hell that lasted a week, and yeah. It's up now, at least. Chapter five will either be posted on October 11th or on October 18th, that I will promise.

“So…” Gary said as they walked through Viridian forest. “Last time I just drove through here, didn’t catch any Pokemon. How about you?”

“Oh yeah, I caught Pidgeot - well, Pidgeotto, and Butterfree when he was still Caterpie here. I can’t wait to see them again, it’s been a really long time.” Ash scratched his head, grinning.

“I know about your Pidgeotto, but I didn’t know you had a Butterfree.” Gary commented.

Misty piped up, “Ash released him after he found his mate, it was really sweet!” 

“Ah, got it, and Butterfree mating season starts in a few weeks… wow Ash, that’s not much time.” Gary said.

“I only knew him for a little while, but he’s still one of my Pokemon!”

“Fair enough, so we catch your Pokemon and then you can let my car out of your Pokeball so that we can drive to Pewter.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. But I feel like we’re forgetting something…”

“Now that you mention it, I do remember something happening here… Misty didn’t catch any Pokemon here last time, right?” Pikachu asked.

Misty shuddered in response, “All we met were Weedle and Beedrill, no thank you.”

“Ah well, there weren’t any Legendaries here and I don’t remember any weird giant robots or angry ghosts so we’ll probably be fine.” Ash said shrugging.

Gary turned to Misty, “Is that what travelling with Ash regularly is like?”

Misty shrugged, “Yeah, I mostly blame Team Rocket-” She stopped and looked around, then shrugged. “I don’t know why but I expected them to inter-”

“Well well well, look who’s on a stroll through Viridian forest!” Jessie said with a little fake laugh.

“Why it’s those pathetic plagiarizes who were protected by that big tourist!” James exclaimed in faux-surprise, grinning.

“To protect the world from devastation, don’t interrupt now.” Jessie said.

“To unite all people within our nation, or we’ll leave you saying ‘ow’.” James also said.

“To denounce the evils of truth and love.” Jessie stated.

“To extend our reach to the stars above.” James finished.

“Jessie.”

“James.”

“Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!”

“Surrender now or prepare to fight!”

“Meowth, that’s right - wait, where’d dey go?”

The Rocket Trio looked around, confused, and saw no trace of the trainers they were after. “I guess they weren’t prepared to fight.” James said, shrugging.

“Well, that’s disappointing. I was ready to let out some steam after that crazy lecture Archer gave us.” Jessie lamented, kicking at a little hillock.

“Yeah, and it didn’t make no sense neither, we didn’t mess wit no boy who had a talkin’ Pikachu… Did we?”

“No, we didn’t.” James drawled, “If we did we would be rolling in cash, do you know how much a talking Pokemon would sell for-” James noticed Meowth unsheath his claws, and hastily shut his mouth.

“Anyway,” Jessie said, quickly changing the subject, “Those twerps definitely had their Pokemon with them this time - let’s find them, steal their Pokemon, rub their faces in it, and make Boss proud!”

“Right!” Her main companions agreed, and then they promptly ran through the forest in a random direction.

* * *

They spent a day wandering in the forest, training a little, camping overnight, only a little lost, mainly looking for a specific Caterpie. And then, finally, they found him.

“Okay Pikachu!” Ash said loudly, “Use Thundershock!”

“Pika-Chu... Ooo oooo oooo!” Pikachu yelled, crooning like the worst singers from the 1950s, and then slammed Caterpie with electricity. Ouch.

“Cater… pie?” The bug-type asked in a daze.

“Go Pokeball!” Ash said, throwing a Pokeball and silently thanking Pikachu for reminding him to stock up before they left Viridian, as he’d filled up all of the Pokeballs that Professor Oak gave him with Starters… and a car.

“Poke-baallll!” Came an oddly strangled voice.

Misty started, and looked around. “What!?”

“Sorry, I thought it would be funny.” Gary replied, not really abashed.

“Congratulations, you have caught: Caterpie, the-” The Pokedex was quickly ignored as Ash twirled around, pointed, and called out.

“Pikachu, Thunderbolt!”

“Right!” Pikachu replied, sending out a bolt of lightning that hit Pidgeotto head-on, and was immediately followed by a Pokeball.

“Ok, go PokeCar!” Ash called, pulling out a very specific Pokeball and releasing the object held inside. Out came Gary’s car, looking more-or-less the same as it had before its stay inside a Pokeball. The time-displaced group trouped into the car, and quickly made their way through the Viridian forest.

“...oh, we should probably spend a few more days training our Pokemon.” Ash said. “Just a thought.”

“Eh, we’re going for Brock first, right? For first-time challengers the Pewter Gym is pretty easy, you just need to lean on type advantage and have a basic strategy, didn’t you notice last time? I guess you would have been at a disadvantage, but you taught Pikachu Iron Tail, didn’t you?”

Misty started laughing, and Ash blushed. “Uh… yeah! Yeah, I definitely didn’t use Electric-type attacks against an Onix and a Geodude, I was all about those super-effective moves and strategies.”

Gary laughed, shaking his head. “I had Wartortle use Water attacks against your Ivysaur, so I guess we’ve both been a little stupid with type immunities.”

“I thought Grass-types were only strong against Water-type attacks, not immune? And when I say ‘I thought’ I meant ‘I was positive because I’m a Water-type specialist.’” Misty said, hands on her hips.

“...you’re right, Ash how did you trick me?”

“I think I tricked myself actually… and I guess Ivysaur was strong enough that it really didn’t have any effect on hi-WATCH OUT!”

At Ash’s cry Gary slammed on the breaks and swerved, narrowly avoiding a boy dressed in weird samurai armor. “Hey! Watch where you are going!” The boy shouted, shaking his fist. “Why are you driving a car through the forest anyway, you will scare away all of the Bug Pokemon!”

“Heh, sorry about that, we just want to get to Pewter before sunset.” Ash said placatingly.

The ‘Samurai’ still looked peeved, “You could have gone around! On a car it would not have taken that long! City-dwellers…”

“We’re actually from Pallet town.” Ash said.

“Pallet town, eh? I met a trainer from Pallet earlier today, she passed by with a Bulbasaur and beat me. You three trainers from Pallet, I will forgive your blunder if you battle me!”

“I’m not from Pallet, I’m from Cerulean!”

“Fine then, you two trainers from Pallet and one from Cerulean!”

“Fine with me.” Ash shrugged, “How many Pokemon do you have?”

“Four.”

“So three one-on-one battles, or two one-on-ones and one two-on-two.” Gary stated, “I can ref the first one.”

“Right, and I’ll fight you first.” Ash said.

“This is acceptable. Go, Pinsir!”

“Go, Caterpie!” Ash shouted, throwing out his Pokeball.

“A Caterpie, interesting - Pinsir, Tackle!”

“Pin-sirr!” Pinsir declared, running at Caterpie.”

“Caterpie, dodge and use String Shot!”

“Caterpie!”

“Good, now use your own Tackle to slam that Pinsir!” Ash ordered.

“Pinsir, watch out!” The ‘Samurai’ called as Caterpie slammed into his Pokemon.

“Pin...sir!” Pinsir called, getting back to his feet. “Pin!”

“Pieeee!” Caterpie declared, and then flashed blue and called out “Metapod.”

“Good job Metapod! Use Harden!”

“Metapod.” Metapod stated, using Harden.

“Pinsir, we can still win this - X-Scissor!”

“Wait, don’t-” Misty and Ash both called out, but it was too late - Pinsir had tried to pinch Metapod with his pincers, and they broke.

“Oh no, Pinsir! Return!” The ‘Samurai’ called, returning his Pokemon.

“Uh, Nurse Joy will be able to fix that… I think.” Ash said.

“Yeah, we can give you a lift to Pewter.” Gary volunteered.

“No thank you, although I appreciate the offer - Pinsir’s pincers will regrow on their own, this has happened before. Congratulations on your Metapod evolving, by the way. You!” The so-called Samurai continued, pointing at Gary. “Send out your Pokemon!”

Gary sent out Wartortle, who had a bit of a one-sided battle with the ‘Samurai’s’ own Metapod, handily defeating it.

And then Misty sent out her Gyarados and one-shot his Cacuna.

“...what was your fourth Pokemon?” Ash asked.

“Another Metapod.”

“Why do you have two Metapods?” Misty asked, shuddering a little - she still did not like Bug-types.

“Why not! There are many trainers in this forest who have nothing but Metapods! Two, three, six - so many Metapods. Personally, I did my best to catch a male and female Caterpie so that when the mating season comes, I will not have to release them.”

“Oh, that makes sense actually.” Ash said, thinking. “Maybe I should catch another Caterpie too…”

“Ash, please.” Misty begged, shuddering. “Isn’t one Bug-type enough? Or are you going to make a quick stop in Johto and get Heracross too?”

“Oh Heracross, truly an interesting Pokemon - I may endeavor to capture one myself.”

“Heracross are good Pokemon, don’t get me wrong, but they’re dual Fighting-Bug types - you already have Pinsir, who’s pure Bug-type but can learn a lot of Fighting-type moves. If you want a big team that you rotate through you won’t have any problems, but if you want a small team of six or seven Pokemon a Heracross might not be the best choice, especially if you only catch Bug-types.” Ash lectured.

Misty and Gary, who both knew Ash when he was actually a rookie, shared impressed glances.

The ‘Samurai’ bowed. “Thank you! You have given me good advice this day, truly you are a wise trainer as well as a strong one. Good luck on your Journey!” After that they all waved goodbye and Ash, Gary, Misty, and Pikachu got back onto Gary’s car and drove out of the forest.

“I fought that guy last time, didn’t I?” Ash asked, keeping a sharp lookout.

“Yeah, I think that was when Metapod evolved into Butterfree." Pikachu said.

“I remember fighting him last time, too. But only after fighting him again; he wasn’t really memorable, just a weird kid who wears samurai armour.” Gary said, doing his best to look over the steering wheel.

“I think we’re close enough to Pewter, we can probably get out and Pokeball the car.” Ash said.

“Right, because driving the car into Pewter and parking it would be weird.” Gary drawled, nonetheless pulling over and turning the car off.

“You have to admit, it is useful.” Misty said, also getting out of the car.

“Right - Car, Return!” Ash called, Returning Gary’s car. “Uh, Gary, maybe we should… do a trade?”

Gary blinked, “What, trade for my car?”

“Well yeah, no offense but you have one Pokemon right now, and I have seven - and the car counts as a Pokemon…”

“Yeah, I’d have to catch something to give you first, but we could trade. Or, you know, you could use the Pokedex’s in-built feature to switch out Pokemon on the go.”

Ash’s eyes widened. “Oh right, I keep forgetting about that.”

“Yeah, no kidding - you can use it as ID too, if you forgot that.”

“Yeah yeah, I remember that… actually, you know that the Pokedex counts as a sort-of unlimited passport that you don’t have to renew?”

Gary blinked, “Huh, I didn’t know that… no, wait, it doesn’t - I remember I still had to renew my passport last time, and when I went to Alola for your party, I had to get a visa. It was in my Pokedex, yeah, but I still had to do paperwork and jump through hoops.”

“Weird, I never had to do that…” Ash said, shaking his head, as they set off at a brisk pace towards Pewter.

“This is bugging me now - did you go to Unova, Kalos, and Alola illegally?” Gary asked.

Misty butted in, “Champions and Elite Four members get a kind-of diplomatic immunity - they still get punished for crimes, but when they travel, they're considered representatives of the League and don't need to do anything special.”

“Yeah, I know that, but Ash only won a League Conference at the end there.” Gary said.

“...wait, do the Orange Islands count?” Pikachu asked, surprised.

“Do you have a better explanation?” Misty returned, shrugging.

“Huh. Somehow I didn’t think the Orange Islands were part of the League of Leagues, since they don’t have a League Conference.” Ash said.

“Isn’t the Orange Island League the one where you have to beat the Gyms sequentially and then you beat the head Gym Leader and you become a Champion, plural not singular?” Gary asked.

Ash and Misty both nodded.

“Huh, Ash I think I’ll do the Orange League with you.” Gary said, shaking his head.

“Yeah, me too.” Misty said, “I don’t think I’ll travel with you to Unova or Kalos, but this is just too useful to pass up.”

“Well, that was something I never thought about.” Ash said, shaking his head. “Okay, so which of us battles Brock first?”

“I’ll go.” Gary volunteered, “I got here before you last time, after-all.”

“Alright, and then I’ll fight him - Misty?” Ash asked, “Do you want a go?”

“Ehhh, I’ll pass this time - you need 8 badges to fight in the League Conference, and I can’t get a badge from the Gym I’m an apprentice at.”

“Wait, apprentice? I thought you were a full-fledged Gym-Leader?” Ash asked.

“No, there’s a test and a trial period for that, and you have to be an apprentice first unless you’re starting a new Gym. There’s so much paperwork involved with that though, so people don’t really open up new Gyms that often.” Misty said, shaking her head.

“You realize that there are 10 qualifying Gyms in Kanto, right?” Gary said, not expecting an answer. “I got 10 badges last time - you could definitely qualify for the Indigo Conference.”

“Really?” Ash asked, “I mean, every Region I’ve gone to has only seemed to have 8 gyms, except for Unova which had 11... But I’ve never heard of any other Gyms in Kanto, not counting the weird gang war in Dark City.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure there are only 8 Gyms in Kanto.” Misty said, nodding, “I guess I could take the League Qualification Exam if I really wanted to compete... But where did you get those badges?”

“...oh, I got them from Johto, I forgot.” Gary said, “I guess I was bored. I think Kanto needs more Gyms though, reliable ones too, I had to jump through some weird hoops to get Lt. Surge and the Sensational Sisters to fight me.”

“Huh, it was Sabrina, Erika, and Blaine for me - and I had to fight Misty for Cerulean, her sisters wanted to just give me the badge…”

“Those are just crazy incompetent gym leaders, that’s right. Definitely not tests designed to make trainers think.” Misty said, “Koga’s maze is also just because he’s lazy, not because he wants to force challengers to actually use their brains. And Sabrina’s totally crazy, it’s not like the Officers Jenny would pounce on her if she actually turned trainers into dolls.”

Gary and Ash looked at Misty, flabbergasted. “You mean… all of those tasks I’ve had to do for Gym Leaders over the years… was because they were like Alolan Trials?” Ash asked.

“What? No, I wasn’t being sarcastic.” Misty said, “Sorry if I gave that impression, no they’re not tests designed to make trainers think. Yes, the Officers Jenny would not pounce on Sabrina, they’d laugh at anyone who claimed she was turning people into dolls with her psychic powers. Erika is a perfume freak. Koga’s maze is so that he has less challengers, otherwise he’d have to fight 10 Steel-type Pokemon a day. That’s just how it is, only a certain type of person has what it takes to get through all the paperwork, the only chance you have to meet a normal Gym Leader is if the Gym Leader is a legacy like me and my sisters or Brock, or if they’re literally a Normal-type trainer.”

“...Wait, Sabrina was turning people into dolls? What?” Gary asked. “Wow, I’m glad I had Type advantage when I challenged Saffron.”

“I should probably get a Ghost or a Dark-type.” Ash said. “And then we can hit Sabrina in the head until she stops being psychotic.”

Gary and Misty both stared at him. “Ash,” Misty said very kindly, “never become a Psychologist.”

“Wasn’t planning on it - oh, here’s Brock’s Gym. I’ll take Pidgeotto and Butterfree to the Pokemon Center for their shots after the battle.”

* * *

“Right.” Gary said, preparing Wartortle’s Pokeball. “Let’s go.” And he led the way inside the Gym - where they saw Jane talking with Brock.

“That was a good battle - you should be careful to not overly rely on type advantage, and a bit more situational awareness wouldn’t hurt. But you’re just starting out, so don’t worry too much - it’s just something to keep in mind as you grow.” With that, he handed her the Boulder Badge.

“Thanks, Brock!” Jane said. “Have a nice day! Oh, Ash, Gary, you’re challenging Brock first too?”

They both nodded.

“Good luck!” Jane said, leaving the Gym.

Brock waited until she left, then turned to Ash and Gary. “New trainers?”

Gary and Ash shared a look, and Gary nodded. “We started our Journeys yesterday, yeah.”

Brock hummed, “How many Pokemon do each of you have?”

“I have 7 and Gary has 1.”

Brock nodded. “Okay then, Gary will get a 1-on-1 battle, and you’ll get a 2-on-2 battle, that sound fair?” Both boys nodded again, and Gary asked to go first.

Misty waved. “Hi, Brock.”

“Hey Misty - wait.” Brock sighed, “Misty, this is the first time we’ve met each-other.”

“Oh, were you going to try to surprise me? Misty already did that.”

Brock shook his head, “I didn’t want to let it slip in case Gary wasn’t a time traveller.”

“Riiight, and how would Gary know we hadn’t met before?” Misty asked.

“Uh… let’s go have those battles.” Brock said not-at-all suspiciously.

* * *

Brock led Gary to the battlefield, telling Ash and Misty to stay put.

“I kind-of want to see Brock and Gary’s battle…” Ash said, disappointed.

Misty shrugged, “It’s because both you and Gary are doing the Gym Challenge; Gym Leaders don’t like future challengers watching them battle. Discussing tactics and strategies with other trainers isn’t frowned upon, and there are videos of almost all Gym Leaders battling online, but it’s just kind-of become standard practice.”

“Plus, can you imagine if Gary or Paul had seen some of our more embarrassing losses?” Pikachu asked.

“I think the embarrassing victories were worse, actually.” Ash said, holding back a shudder. Then he stopped and thought for a moment. “Oh yeah, Brock’s dad is lurking around town too embarrassed to face his kids, isn’t he?”

“Yep.” Pikachu affirmed.

“We’re going to have to deal with that, aren’t we.” Misty said, not phrasing it as a question.

Ash let out Ivysaur, as he planned to use him and Pikachu for this battle, and then let out Froakie, Pidgeotto, Meowth, and Pichu, just to spend time with them. Metapod and Gary’s car were at Professor Oak’s.

Meowth immediately started play-chasing Pidgeotto. At least, Ash chose to believe she was just playing - he knew Pidgeotto could take care of herself, at any rate. Froakie and Pichu also started playing, and Ivysaur and Pikachu seemed to be having some sort of philosophical debate.

“Right, we’re changing the past - or the present, I guess - and in the past, and future, we’ll go to the past to keep the present the same as it is..”

“Saur, Ivysaur, saur saur ivy.” Ivysaur posited.

“I don’t think it works like that, but I’m not an expert. We went back in time, sort-of, but our old future… it’s gone? More or less? It will happen, but-”

“Saur, saur ivysaur.”

“Yeah, I know time’s not linear - it all happens at the same time. But this isn’t just time travel, it’s a reset of-sorts. It happened, for us. For Squirtle, or Delia, or Giovanni, it didn’t. It’s not even exactly the same as last time, since Giovanni is Ash’s grandpa now. Every other time we’ve gone back in time, we didn’t actually change the past, not really. It was a stable time loop.”

“Ivy ivy saur, saur saur ivysaur.”

“Hm, that is a good point. I guess we won’t know unless we ask a Celebi, or Dialga. Still, I don’t think it’ll be possible to go back in time to the future in the past and meet ourselves before Arceus’ rewind.”

“Ivy saur, saur. Saur ivy Ivysaur, saur! Saur, ivysaur saur ivy saur saur.” Ivysaur pointed out.

“Okay, again a good point - I guess we’ll see. I don’t think it’ll happen, but I also didn’t think Ash would lose Sinnoh, and then poof, Tobias appeared with two Legendaries.”

“Saur, ivysaur? Ivy saur, saur.”

“Hm, ethically speaking no. Theoretically, I could do it, but I don’t think I ever would. Why, do you think I should? Would you?”

“Saur saur, ivy Ivysaur saur ivy.” Ivysaur said.

“There’s nothing wrong with theoreticals, yeah, but we shouldn’t go too far. We’re the good guys, if we start doing that kind of thing then wouldn’t we become the bad guys?”

“Ivy ivy saur Ivysaur, saur.” Ivysaur replied.

“Yes, exactly! I’m not saying we shouldn’t talk about it, I’m just saying we should be careful.”

“Saur.” Ivysaur nodded.

Ash tuned the conversation out at that point. “How do you think Gary’s doing?” He asked Misty.

“I’m sure he’s doing fine - it’s the first badge, and he has a second-stage Water-type.” Misty said. “Brock knows he’s not actually a newbie so he won’t go _too_ easy on him, but I doubt Gary will lose.”

* * *

“Wartortle, Hydro Pump!” Gary shouted.

“War, tortle war!” Wartortle shouted back, pumping water at Geodude, who barely dodged in time.

“Good, run closer and keep blasting him!”

“Geodude, use Rock Throw and interrupt the stream, then use Sandstorm!”

“Dude.” Geodude agreed, hitting Wartortle with a few rocks and then covering the field in an obstructive Sandstorm.

“Ok Wartortle, rush through the Sandstorm and then shoot off a Bubblebeam!”

“Wart tortle war!” The bubblebeam was shot off in the heart of the Sandstorm, and all the bubbles were popped by the sand, turning it into more of a mud storm.

“Good, now find Geodude and use Seismic Toss!”

“Wartortle!” Wartortle shouted, running into Geodude and slamming him into the ground. Geodude twitched for a while, and then stopped moving.

“Geodude, Return.” Brock said, smiling. “Good job, Gary - no real complaints, get used to battling again, get more Pokemon. Though uh, you realize that your style is more Ash-like than it used to be?”

Gary’s cheeks darkened, “My research specialty wasn’t battle-related so the only battles I saw regularly were his, okay? It’s not like I’m gonna miss my best friend’s League matches, not when they’re handily posted online.”

“Yeah, that’s understandable, just a comment.” Brock said placatingly. “Are you… going to return your Wartortle?”

“I would, but he looks like he’s concentrating really hard on something.” Gary said, then called “You okay, buddy?”

“War! Tortle, wartortle!” Wartortle replied, disgusted.

“...Dreaming? Sleeping? Something about sleeping, uh you can sleep inside your Pokeball?

“Tort!” Wartortle said again, frustrated, and Returned himself.

“Maybe he’s frustrated that he isn’t fully evolved.” Brock suggested, “I know that’s how Onyx feels.”

“...wait, your Starter remembers?” Gary asked, “Seriously?”

“Yeah, Onix remembers… Are you sure Wartortle doesn’t? Didn’t you receive him yesterday? I know he was only a Squirtle last time you faced me.” Brock commented.

“I… I didn’t think about that, actually.” Gary said. “Ash didn’t ask Arceus to bring him back, but he didn’t ask to have friend Serena back either.”

“You can just ask him, even if you don't understand everything he says, a nod is pretty-much universal.” Brock suggested, walking towards the lobby. “Forrest!” He called, “Can you clear the Gym?”

“Right!” A kid with vibrant orange hair responded, coming through a hidden side door. “Ryhorn, come on out and use Earthquake!”

His Ryhorn came out and used Earthquake. Clearing a Rock-type battle ground mainly meant shifting the rocks around, in this case at least, as Gary hadn't used any Grass-type moves.

“Apprentice?” Gary asked. “Seems a bit young.”

“He’s my younger brother, but yeah he is also an apprentice Gym Leader - he's 12.” Brock said. “We dyed his hair the other day, it’s usually black.” He opened the door to the hallway and ushered Gary through.

“And are those faint z-marks on his cheeks?” Gary asked.

“So, which Pokemon do you think you’ll catch next?” Brock asked.

“....A Rattata, an Oddish, a Growlithe, an Exeggcute, a Rhydon, and a Scyther. Today.” Gary said, noticing the change-in-subject.

“Well, someone’s an overachiever.” Brock commented, very quickly reaching the door at the end of the hallways and holding it open.

Gary nodded as he went through the door.

“Well Gary, that was a well-thought battle. Here’s the Boulder Badge, you earned it.” Brock said, patting Gary on the back. “Ash, you’re next.”

“Right!” Ash said, grinning. Okay - Ivysaur, Pikachu, come with me - Uh, Brock, can my other Pokemon watch?”

Brock shrugged, “Sure.”

“Okay, come on everyone!” Ash said, and quickly became the head of a procession of Pokemon.

“Why are you having them watch?” Brock asked.

Ash shrugged, “I don’t think I’ll have them watch all my battles, but they’re all new, and most of them are my Starters, so I want them to feel involved.”

“Yeah, fair enough. You know, five Starters sure is something.” Brock said, “Not that you don’t love all your Pokemon, but Starters are special.”

“Yeah, definitely. So are you going to leave Onix with your brother early, or wait until Hoenn again?” Ash teased.

Brock sighed, “That was - no, I can’t really defend myself there, he had a Rhyperior, all I really needed to give him was Geodude.” He opened the door to the Gym’s arena. “Forrest will actually be spectating from behind a one-way mirror, so no future talk.”

“Right.” Ash nodded. “I’ll start with Ivysaur.”

“Saur!” Ivysaur agreed, walking forwards.

“Good.” Brock nodded approvingly. “I was almost afraid you’d start with that Pikachu.”

Ash blushed, and shrugged. He’d deserved that, honestly.

“Okay, Onix, come on out!” Brock called.

“Is he uh… well rested?” Ash asked.

“Yes, he hasn’t seen battle today.” Brock said. “I have three personal Pokemon that I use for battles and four Pokemon that technically belong to the other Pewter Gym Leaders.”

“Right.” Ash nodded.

“They’re all from the Rhydon family actually.” Brock confided. “It’s a bit hard to find Rock-types in Kanto that aren’t also Ground-types… Onix, use Rock Throw!”

“Ivysaur, bat the rocks away with Vine Whip, then Dig!”

Ivysaur deflected the rocks, then burrowed into the ground.”

“That’s an unusual move for Ivysaurs to learn.” Brock commented.

“He can use Lick too!” Ash said, grinning. “And Tickle!”

Brock chuckled, “I’m not exactly a Pokemon Professor, but I see your point. Onix, when he pops up use Dragon Breath!”

“Oniiiiix!” Onix agreed, getting ready to flambe the Grass-type.

“Okay Ivysaur - a shower of Razor Leaves, then Solar Beam!”

“Sauuuuur!” Came a muffled cry, followed by a dozen Razor Leaves, half of which hit Onix - and then the Solar Beam came through the holes the Razor Leaves made.

“Ok Onix, you can still score a few good hits - Slam!”

Onix slammed, and Ivysaur went flying into the air. “Ivysaur, grab Onix with Vine Whip, and then dose him with Sleep Powder!”

“Onix, Dragon Breath!”

Both Pokemon complied, although Onix only managed to scorch Ivysaur a little before finally succumbing to the Sleep Powder.

“Good work Onix - Return.” Brock said. “Nice job - but you’re only half done. Prepare yourself!”

Ash nodded, “Right - Ivysaur, are you okay?”

Ivysaur was a bit battered, but nodded.

Brock nodded, “Okay, come on out Shuckle!”

“...huh, that’s a surprise.” Ash said, smiling. “Be careful Ivysaur!”

“Shuckle, Struggle Bug!” Brock commanded, “And then Rollout!”

“Shuckle!”

“Ivysaur, use Dig - and attack with it too!”

“Saur!”

Brock nodded, “It’s a legitimate Dig then, interesting, and doubly effective. Shuckle, prepare to dodge!”

Ivysaur popped up and missed Shuckle, and then re-entered the ground. After a brief game of reverse whack-a-mole, Shuckle got off a Sticky Web and managed to keep Ivysaur above-ground, but not before taking a decent amount of damage.

“Uh, Brock, does Shuckle know Bug Bite?”

Brock shook his head, “Nope.”

“...When did you catch them?” Ash asked.

“Two days ago.” Brock said, winking. “I figured I should diversify, with so many dual Rock-Ground types, though I haven’t had much time to train her.”

“Right.” Ash agreed, “Ivysaur, shoot off some Razor Leaves and Return.”

“Saur.” Ivysaur agreed, hitting Shuckle a few times and also cutting through the Sticky Web that was still on him.

“You know Brock, I think diversifying was the right choice... Go, Pikachu!”

Brock nodded, “Good catch, some people assume that all Rock-types are immune to electricity when the typing doesn't even make it less effective. Shuckle, Rollout!”

“Shuckle!” Shuckle agreed, rolling out.

“Pikachu, Thunderbolt!”

“Way ahead of you!” Pikachu said, eliciting a gasp from behind the wall, and shooting off three Thunderbolts in quick succession, two of which hit Shuckle.

“Good - now Volt Tackle!” Ash ordered.

Pikachu complied. He wasn’t nearly as powerful as he had been - and would be - so none of his moves packed the punch they used to. But he was still an abnormally powerful Pikachu, by the normal standard, so his attacks did their job and knocked Shuckle out.

“That was a fast battle.” Brock said, nodding. “And an efficient one - you have some skilled Pokemon.”

Ash grinned, “Thanks!”

“Want to go to the Pokemon Center with me? Your Ivysaur can take a beating like a champ, but he still took a beating.”

“Yeah, let’s go - uh, and grab Misty and Gary too!” Ash said, nodding.

* * *

“So, you two really started your Journey yesterday?” Brock asked, feigning surprise.

“Uh, yeah!” Gary said, playing along. “We’re both ten years old.”

“And I’m 13!” Misty piped up.

“And I’m 15.” Brock offered, contemplatively. “Never had a proper Pokemon Journey, actually, I took over as main Gym Leader when I was 11, didn’t have time to go challenge Johto or one of the other regions - I did fight Erika, but that was part of my training.”

Misty nodded, “I’m a trainee at Cerulean, and this is also my first Pokemon Journey. Honestly, until Ash and Gary came along, I was in a rut of biking into the forest surrounding Viridian, fishing, biking back to Viridian, and hoping my sisters hadn’t ruined the family gym.”

“That’s rough.” Brock said. “Honestly, if one of Pewter’s other Gym Leaders were here, I’d ask to tag along with you.”

Ash feigned surprise, “Really? With us?”

Brock nodded, “You seem like bright young trainers, it would be an excuse to travel through Kanto, and I could make sure you weren’t eating burned rice and junk food.”

All three younger trainers laughed awkwardly. “We uh… we had a lot of granola bars when we stayed in Viridian Forest overnight.” Ash said sheepishly. “I’m lucky my mom put some in my bag…”

“You guys haven’t eaten real food today?” Brock asked, shaking his head. “You’ll have dinner with my family, then - just so you can have a taste of what you’ll be missing!” He joked.

There was an audible gulp from one of the bushes that bordered their path. “Brock, they won’t have to miss your cooking - because I’m here.” And Brock’s dad dramatically walked out of the bushes.

“I know.” Brock said, deadpan. “You’ve been back in town for, what, a week? Two?”

Brock’s dad looked surprised, “Three, actually - how did you know?”

“Challengers have been telling me about a hobo they’ve seen lurking around the Gym, who I haven’t seen at all. It was either you or a ninja, and Koga denied any involvement.”

Brock’s dad sighed. “I’m sorry, I - I’ve been such a coward.”

“You’re here now.” Brock said bracingly. “And that’s enough for me.”

“Really?” Brock’s dad brightened.

“Yeah.” Brock nodded. “And I’m off as soon as we tell my siblings.”

Brock’s dad blinked, “Uh, okay.”

“The youngest three don’t remember you.” Brock commented.

“Uh-”

“And Forrest resents you.” Brock said baldly. “I don’t think he’ll resent me for leaving, though, since I tried to get him to go on a Pokemon Journey when he was 10, and he knows I’ve been feeling stifled. He might resent you for it, though, since if you or mom hadn’t shown up I’d have had to stay.”

“I-” Brock’s dad started, then sighed. “I’ll deal with it. Thank you, Brock - you didn’t have to step up like you did, but-.”

“I literally did.” Brock said. “But thanks anyway. I’ll meet you at home, okay? We just have to go to the Pokemon Center first.”

Brock’s dad nodded, looking dazed, and wandered in the general direction of the Pewter Gym.

Ash, Misty, and Gary looked at Brock, all mildly surprised.

“What?” Brock asked. “He’s been gone since I was 11, he deserved it.”

“Why’d he leave, anyway?” Misty asked.

“He wanted another Pokemon Journey, I guess.” Brock said, “Mom left too, for ‘artistic reasons’. She’s going to turn up later and try to turn the Gym into a Water-type Gym.”

Misty scoffed, “Kanto already has a perfectly good Water-type Gym!”

Brock shrugged, “I love my parents, but they aren’t exactly the most rational people around. When you’re all in the Orange Islands I think I’ll go home to Pewter and train Forrest some more.”

“What about Professor Ivy?” Pikachu asked.

“...No.” Brock said, shaking his head.

“Brock?” Misty asked, a little concerned. “You never talked about what happened… are you okay?”

Brock twitched, “Oh, I’m fine.”

“Professor Ivy seemed pretty nice when I met her, a bit weird, but that’s how it goes.” Gary said.

Brock put his head in his hands, “She has a boyfriend.”

“Is that… really that bad?” Ash asked, “You’ve been rejected a lot.”

“That wasn’t the problem.” Brock shuddered. “I didn’t want to tell you when you were younger because it’s disturbing, but he... was a lawyer.” Brock said, making everyone, including Pikachu, looked disgusted and uncomfortable.

“Uh… right.” Gary said, tactfully changing the subject. “So, the Pokemon Center, right?”

“Right!” Brock said, completely forgetting about the previous subject. “I need to bid Nurse Joy a sorrowful farewell, oh how I will miss her soft hands and caring eyes…”

“That’s Brock, alright.” Misty said, shaking her head as she, Ash, and Gary followed the heart-eyed Gym Leader.

Ash grinned, “I wouldn’t have him any other way.”

“Is he… girl-crazy?” Gary asked, “Huh.”

"I kind-of forgot you don't know Brock that well." Ash said. "Welcome to the team, I guess."

"Thanks, man." Gary said genuinely.

"Yeah, as the newbie your job is to stop Brock from alienating every single Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny we come across!" Misty said.

"...Thanks." Gary said, less genuinely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's chapter 4! Finally, right? Er, it feels weird asking for feedback, but could I get feedback on the Pokemon battles? Should they be longer? More detailed, less detailed? Are they fine as-is? I think if I end up doing a 6-on-6 battle I'd maybe show the start and end of each fight but skip the middle? Because I feel like some Pokemon battles would take a loooong time.
> 
> Wow - Ash actually won Alola in canon. Good on him! I've seen some people complaining that his team is the weakest it's ever been, that Alola isn't a 'real' League, that he should have won in Sinnoh - the last one is the only gripe I agree with. All the rest, whatever - Yes, his team wasn't as strong as it usually is. So what? He still won, fair and square. Alola doesn't have Gyms, Gym Leaders, or even the Trial Captains it has in the games - but it's still a League. I think it counts, and I'm proud of Ash.
> 
> I kind-of want to give Ash a Pokemon from Galar, but I'm holding back until we have a proper Pokedex entry. Might even hold back until Orange Islands, or Johto, though this specific Pokemon would be very useful in Kanto. The plan is for the next chapter to cover multiple episodes, as I don't want to individually cover every single Pokemon episode, because I would die. Also, nothing against lawyers, really - my sister's trying to get into law school! Just, you know, the 2 things I could think of for Professor Ivy were either her having a boyfriend who was a lawyer, or a boyfriend who was her brother... I figured lawyer was less traumatizing and generally funnier.


	5. PokePatch Ash.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary catches a plethora of Pokemon! The gang makes it Cerulean City ahead of schedule, and find that they weren't the only ones! Two stunning Gym Battles, only one of which is cut away from! Brock, successful?!?
> 
> OR:
> 
> 5 WEIRD THINGS ABOUT THE CERULEAN OFFICER JENNY THAT DEFINITELY AREN'T CLICKBAIT

“Wow, that tasted amazing.” Gary said, stretching, “Where did you learn to cook like that?”

“I have so many younger siblings,” Brock shrugged, “I just experimented until I got good.”

“Did you catch your Zubat, by the way?” Ash asked. “I know you’ve got Onyx and Geodude, and your new Shuckle.”

“No, I don’t know where he’ll be.” Brock said, “Plus, we have to stop Team Rocket from robbing those Clefairies on Mt. Moon.”

“The ones who worship a Moon Stone?” Gary asked.

“Yeah.” Misty nodded. “I don’t know if they’ll do it this time, though, they’re following us but they have… a different motivation.”

“Oh?” Brock asked.

“It’s Misty’s fault.” Ash tattled, “She had us steal their motto.”

“Prepare for trouble/make it double?” Brock asked, “That’s cold, their rhymes are the best things about them.”

“Professor Oak’s rhymes are better.” Pikachu said, “And more meaningful.”

“Yeah, his rhymes and poems are good, but his puns are awful.” Gary said, stretching. “So I’ve caught Growlithe, Rhydon, Scyther, and Oddish - I still need to catch Rattata and Exeggcute.”

“You’ll have the same amount of Pokemon as me.” Ash commented, “Interesting.”

“Well, tomorrow I’ll catch five more.” Gary said somewhat sheepishly. “Some of them I never even trained, actually… Maybe I shouldn’t catch all of my old Pokemon.”

“Didn’t you have something like 200?” Brock asked, “That is a bit much.”

“How many of those were Ditto, though?” Ash asked.

“...27.” Gary said, scowling.   
Brock and Misty exchanged a glance and a shrug. They didn’t really know Gary that well, Gary had been more Ash’s rival-cum-friend than theirs.

“And it was more like 300, last time I was at Oak’s ranch at least.” Pikachu said.

“Yeah, I caught around 20 more in Johto, and then I guess they all bred.” Gary shrugged, “I don’t think I’ll catch the herd of Nidoran this time around, only the two that I actually used.”

“You caught a whole herd?” Ash asked, “Huh.”

“It’s like your Tauros, you’re not going to catch all 30 of them again, are you?” Gary asked.

“Uh… Well.” Ash shrugged, “Tauros might have been reminded, so we’ll see.”

“You mean the head Tauros, right?” Misty asked.

Brock shook his head resignedly, “It’s Ash, so he probably just said ‘Tauros’ and assumed Arceus knew which one he was talking about.”

“Hey! That’s not what happened!” Ash said indignantly.

“Yeah!” Pikachu said, supporting Ash, “He wrote down ‘Tauros’ assuming that Arceus wouldn’t know which one he was talking about!”

All of Ash’s human companions stared at Ash for a few moments. “You realize this means that all of them are going to remember, right?” Brock asked. “You’re going to be mauled by 30 Tauros as soon as you step into the Safari Zone.”

“Actually, I have a theory.” Pikachu said, “Remember how last time they all kept running in front of Ash’s safari balls?”

Misty’s eyes widened, “You don’t think…”

Pikachu shrugged, “It’s not the craziest thing we’ve seen.”

“And that’s what scares me.” Brock said, only half-joking. “And whatever condition Ash has that attracts weird things is contagious, you know.”

“Wait, really?” Ash asked, surprised and concerned. “How?”

“This is what you get for not calling us, Ash.” Mist said, shaking her head. “Do you know how many incidents there were in Cerulean after I took over the Gym?”

“Or how many unprecedented cases I saw when I was doing my residency?” Brock asked.

“I’m a researcher, so weird stuff is actually good.” Gary said, shrugging. “Especially if I can replicate in a controlled setting.”

“Good for you, maybe, but May had to deal with a megalomaniacal Chansey in Johto that was trying to start a Normal-type revolution.” Brock said.

“Wait, really?” Ash asked, “Huh.”

“I’d say your friend Tracy probably helped grandpa’s research just by being around, but I think your Pokemon did that by themselves.” Gary chimed in. “And now I’m curious, is this an Ability? Can humans have Abilities?”

“Yeah, I can see the research paper now.” Pikachu joked, “Ash Ketchum: The Human Absol.”

“....” Ash said, looking into the bushes. “Gary, do you recognize that Exeggcute?”

Gary looked over, “Yeah, that’s the one. Go, Warortle!”

“Tortle!” Wartortle shouted, shooting a concentrated stream of water at the Grass-type, and following it up with a body-slam. Gary followed Wartortle’s body-slam with a Pokeball, and caught his Exeggcute.

“So just your Ratata today?” Ash asked.

“Yep.” Gary agreed, “And then five Pokemon tomorrow… though I only really used them for one battle each.”

“I had something like… 60 Pokemon last time.” Ash said, “And, not counting the Tauros, I spent a lot of time with all of them. At least two gyms or the equivalent for each!”

Gary shrugged, “I guess I won’t re-catch all of them - it’s kind of cruel, isn’t it, to catch a Pokemon and never get to know them?”

“If you’re a farmer it makes sense,” Brock chimed in, “or if you’re catching them for research purposes - and you would be, wouldn’t you? Your grandfather studies all the Pokemon at his ranch.”

“True, and grandpa would probably appreciate ordinary Pokemon to compare Ash’s to… Eh, I’ll just wing it.” Gary decided.

“Good choice, that’s what I always do!” Ash said.

“And Ash won two Leagues doing that.” Misty added.

“So you said Brock caught a Zubat?” Gary asked, “When, tomorrow? Day after that?”

“I think… 2 days after Ash got the Boulder Badge originally.” Brock said, “So in 5 days.”

“...Okay.” Gary nodded, “Day after tomorrow is when I got the Cascade Badge last time, so how about we get the Badge and then loop back to Mt. Moon?”

“Sounds like a plan!” Ash agreed.

“Gary, you said something about my sisters making you run through hoops to battle them?” Misty asked.

“Yeah, it was weird.” Gary said, “But worth it, I guess.”

“I’m a Gym Apprentice, so I’ll battle you both, no need for weird tasks.”

“I don’t mind fetch quests, but thanks!”

“Yeah Misty, thanks!” Pikachu said, “This time, I’m going to participate!”

“Uh.” Ash said awkwardly, “I mean you could… But I was going to see if I could sweep the Gym with Butterfree.”

Butterfree had evolved (again) in a battle against a wild Beedrill. It was a pretty uneventful battle, all-told.

“Fine” Pikachu shrugged, sitting himself more securely on Ash’s shoulder “But if he loses, I’m next.”

“Fair enough.” Ash conceded.

“By the way Brock,” Misty started, sounding concerned, “was it really okay to just… leave your dad with your siblings with only a hug for a goodbye?”

Brock shrugged, “I love them, but honestly if I spent one more minute with them I would have exploded. You know what it’s like.”

Misty nodded, and Gary as well - Ash didn’t have any siblings, and didn’t know what it was like.

* * *

“Stop!” An Officer Jenny shouted, “Hands in the air!”

Ash, Gary, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and Wartortle (who was out of his Pokeball to stretch his legs) all obligingly put their hands up. “What’s the problem, Officer?” Gary asked.

“There’s been a theft.” Jenny said, “And since I’ve never seen you before, you’re all officially suspects!”

“Uh.” Gary said, surprised, “When was the theft?”

“Last night.” Jenny said.

“We spent the night in a Pokemon Center on Route Four,” Misty said, “and you really don’t recognize me??”

The Jenny blinked and looked again, “Oh, Misty - these boys are with you?”

Misty nodded.

“Good enough for me.” The Jenny whipped her head around and ran towards another group of Trainers, “Stop! Police!”

Ash slowly put his hands down, “Huh.”

“Ah, the Cerulean Jenny!” Brock said, swooning. “As fierce as she is captivating, a gung-ho beauty!”

“Better be careful,” Gary said, “if she hears you she might change her mind about us being suspects…”

“Yeah, this Jenny’s crazy.” Misty affirmed, “I swear she tries to arrest every Trainer and tourist who passes through.”

“So the Cerulean Gym?” Ash asks, “Can we go there now, or do we need to wait for Jenny to come back with an arrest warrant?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” Misty said, leading the way.

* * *

“Hello, and welcome to Ceru-” Violet began, “Oh, Misty! Back so soon?”

“Not for long.” Misty said, “I just want my friends to have an actual challenge, no offence.”

“None taken, runt.” Violet shrugged, “We only lead the Gym because mom asked us to, and because we know you’ll take over. Soon, I hope.”

“Yeah.” Misty shrugged, “Sooner than later, at least. Where are Daisy and Lily?”

“They’re looking for a Trainer to clean the main pool.” Violet shrugged, “And in exchange we’ll give that Trainer a Cascade Badge.”

“Right,” Misty rolled her eyes, “Gary? Any thoughts?”

“Nope.” Gary said, shrugging. “A Trainer’s gotta do what a trainer’s gotta do.”

“Right.” Misty shook her head, “So the main pool’s already dirty?”

Violet nodded, “Yeah, but you don’t want to battle in there - trust me.”

“Why not?” Misty asked.

“Someone decided to use a Grimer.” Violet grimaced, “That didn’t go well. And then his starter was a Charmander - even I know that taking a Fire-type to a Water-type Gym for your first badge is a bad idea, after Nurse Joy came in and sucked up as much of his Grimer as she could I pointed him towards Erika for his first badge.” She shook her head, “Maybe he’ll catch a Grass-type on the way back here.”

Ash and Gary exchanged a glance, they could guess who that trainer was, and he seemed to have Ash’s old problem. Oh well.

“So let’s go to the Secondary Pool.” Misty said, “I’ll fight Ash first, three on three, and then Gary, one on two.”

“One on two??” Gary asked incredulously, “Really?”

“Yes.” Misty nodded, “Come on Ash.”

Brock patted Gary on the shoulder. “It could be worse.” He said.

“How?” Gary asked.

“You could be bringing a Charmander and a Muk to the Water-type Gym.”

“...true.” Gary nodded, crossing his arms. “You know, I’m pretty sure he’s one of the Trainers that started with Ash and me.”

“He is.” Brock confirmed, “At least I think he is - he came to my Gym a day before Ash last time with a Krabby, his Charmander, and a Gloom - it was his third Badge.”

“Last time?” Violet asked, apparently still in the room. “What do you mean ‘last time’?”

“Uh-” Gary began, but was cut off.

“Last time I laid my eyes on you, the most beautiful of the three stunning Sensational Sisters!” Brock declared, running up to Violet and kissing her hand, “Your radiance is only second to your blinding hydrosity!”

“...Oh, Brock, right, we have met before.” Violet said, “How are your siblings?”

“My father returned and is taking care of them, and the Gym, leaving me free to follow my heart - and lo, my heart led me right to you!” Brock exclaimed.

Violet turned her head and addressed Gary, “Is he always like this?”

Gary shrugged, “Yeah, seems like it.”

“I think Daisy would appreciate him, she’s always been romantic in the weirdest of ways.”

Gary’s eyes widened, and he put up his hands to signal ‘stop’, “Brock’s in some kind of romance-induced-trance so he didn’t hear you, but don’t tell him he might have a chance with one of your sisters! Please, for the love of Arceus-”

|Cough.|

“...for the love of Arceus, don’t.” Gary finished, somewhat lamely.

Violet was staring forward, not really seeing anything, slack-jawed. “Was that-”

|Best not to dwell on it.|

“That was Arceus, yeah.” Wartortle said, “Wait.”

“Oh wow.” Gary said, floored. “Okay.”

“Did your Wartortle just - did Arceus - what?” Violet asked.

“You are like a beautiful flower, floating across the water, blooming beautifully in the morning light!” Brock proclaimed.

“Ash’s Pokemon back at the Ranch always said Brock really loved women,” Wartortle said, “didn’t realize he loved them more than Pikachu loves ketchup.”

“This whole situation is just bizarre.” Violet said, running a hand through her hair.

“Trust me” Gary said, putting his hand on her shoulder, “it can get a lot weirder.”

Violet whipped her head towards him, eyes wide, “How?!”

And then, faintly, they heard a crash, and then a yell: “PREPARE FOR TROUBLE!”   
“That’s how.” Gary said, returning Wartortle for fast travel and running towards the noise.

Violet turned, and saw that Brock had become alert and started running as well. What on earth…

* * *

“Okay Butterfree, use Whirlwind!” Ash commanded.

Butterfree flapped his wings and sent out a veritable wall of air, slamming into Staryu and causing them to fall into the water.

“Good!” Ash praised, “Don’t let Staryu recover - Stun Spore, and use another Whirlwind to propel them quickly!”

“Butterfree!” Butterfree called, quickly emitting the spores and flapping his wings again, picking them up in the Whirlwind, swirling them around a little, and then quickly shooting them at Staryu.

“Staryu, use Rapid Spin!” Misty commanded.

Staryu, who had recovered from being slammed into the water, rose up and started spinning - faster and faster and faster. When the Stun Spore-ladden Whirlwind hit, it was caught in the spin, and sent away from Staryu - not in any specific direction, just away.

“Butterfree, get up close and Tackle!” Ash called.

“Free!” Butterfree called, flapping his wings hard and quickly closing the distance with the Water-type. “Butter!”

“Staryu, Water Gun!” Misty called.

Staryu shot out a stream of water, most of it hitting Butterfree dead on - but Butterfree kept flapping his wings, and still slammed into the starfish hard.

“...Staryu, return.” Misty called, returning her Pokemon. “That’s one down, Ash - how’s Butterfree doing?”

“Free!” Butterfree panted, flying higher. “Butterfree!”

Ash listened intently, then shared a nod with Pikachu. “He’s ready for the next fight.”

“Good!” Misty declared, sending out Goldeed. “Goldeen, let’s defeat this bug!”

“Goldeen!” The fish called, and used Waterfall, and propelled herself forward, slamming into Butterfree. “Deen!”

“...huh.” Ash said, surprised. “You trained her more?”

Misty shrugged, “I only really had a day with her, but yeah I used her to help train Gyarados.”

“Ah. Butterfree! Psybeam!” Ash called.

Butterfree, who was flapping very hard to stay up, since he had a fish on top of him, focussed really hard, and sent out a burst of pink energy, blasting Goldeen back into the water.

“Now String Shot again!” Ash called, “And again!”

“Free!” Butterfree yelled, shooting String Shot after String Shot into the water, most of which Goldeen effortlessly dodged.

“Uh, Ash” Misty said, hands on her hips, “you know that String Shot dissolves in water?”

“Yeah.” Ash said, shrugging. “But it means Butterfree can recover while Goldeen dodges.”

“W-you really did learn something!” Misty said, “Okay Goldeen, Soak!”

“Deen!” Goldeen agreed, propelling herself out of the water, and then slamming back into it, causing a massive wave to come out and engulf Butterfree.

“Free?” Butterfree asked, “Free.”

“Wait.” Pikachu said, “Does Goldeen know any Electric attacks?”

Misty smirked.

“Butterfree!” Ash called out, “Dodge!”

“Goldeen!” Misty called dramatically… “Peck!”

“What?” Ash asked, surprised, “But-”

“Goldeen can’t learn Electric attacks.” Misty said, “Or they don’t normally.”

Butterfree, still confused from having his type changed from Bug-Flying to Water, took the Peck head-on.

“...wait.” Pikachu said, “Aren’t Bug-types weak to Flying-type moves?”

“Eh, the element of surprise makes up for it.” Ash said, shrugging. “Butterfree, Tackle!”

Butterfree flapped his wings hard, and slammed into Goldeen, knocking them both out.

“Butterfree, return!” Ash called immediately.

“Goldeen, return!” Misty called, a second later. “Good battle - you win.”

“Awww…” Pikachu moaned, “I wanted a turn.”

“Can we have that third battle?” Ash asked, “for Pikachu’s sake?”

Misty shrugged, “Sure.” And sent out Starmie.

“Starmie!” Starmie called.

“Pikachu, go on.”

“Right!” Pikachu said, “Thanks!” and he jumped in the pool and started swimming towards Starmie.

“Starmie-” Misty began.

“Pikachu, Thundershock!” Ash called.

Pikachu electrified the pool.

“...Starmie, don’t touch the water, and use Psybeam!” Mist called.

Starmie shot a beam of Psychic energy out at Pikachu, who took it like a champ, and immediately retaliated with a weak Volt Tackle. Weak for Ash’s Pikachu, at least, so it still packed quite a punch.

“...Starmie, return.” Misty said, shaking her head. “Really, Ash?”

Ash smiled sheepishly, “Sorry, Misty.”

“Ah, yeah, sorry.” Pikachu said, embarrassed.

“Ok, why don’t you go get Gary-”

Suddenly the wall broke down, “PREPARE FOR TROUBLE!” Jessie yelled.

James waved from behind the wheel of the massive machine they were driving. “AND MAKE IT DOUBLE!”

Jessie posed, “To protect the world from devastation!”

James whipped out his signature rose, “To unite all peoples within our nation!”

“To denounce the evils of truth and love.”

“To extend our reach to the stars above!”

“Jessie.”

“James.”

“Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!” Jessie declared.

“Surrender now or prepare to fight!” James finished.

“Meowth, that’s - that’s dem twerps that ran away in Viridian Forest!” Meowth realized.

“Hi!” Ash waved.

“Fancy meeting you here!” Misty said, “In my home, destroying my Gym. I’m calling my lawyer!”

“The twerpette’s a Gym Leader?” James asked, confused.

“It doesn’t matter, Meowth, turn on the suction!” Jessie commanded, extending the machine’s hose.

Suddenly Gary, Brock, and Violet ran in, in that order.

“These guys again?” Gary groaned.

“We could say the same thing!” James responded, “Here we are, trying to make an honest living-”

“By stealing from people.” Brock supplied.

“Yes! Thank you! Making an honest living by stealing from people! And you twerps always show up and ruin it, don’t you have anything better to do?” James asked.

“...Are these guys serious?” Violet asked.

“Sadly.” Pikachu said.

“...did dat Pikachu just talk?” Meowth asked.

“Yep!” Pikachu said happily.

“...oh.” James said, “I see.”

“Right boys, there’s only one thing we can do in this situation.” Jessie declared.

“Beg forgiveness?” Meowth asked.

“No.” Jessie said, pushing the obligatory self-destruct button. “It looks like it’s time for Team Rocket to go blasting off!”

“...was that an audible twinkle?” Violet asked.

“Yep.” Ash confirmed, “That’s just how they are.”

“...okay.” Violet shook her head, “I - Misty, deal with the Gym for the rest of the day, I have to leave before I explode.”

“Would you like to go to the mall?” Brock asked, “I would be delighted to-”

“Okay.” Violet said, “Why not.”

“...really?” Brock asked, surprised. “Wow - yes, let’s go!” The pair left the smoking Gym, heading off towards the mall.

“...huh.” Ash said, “I didn’t see that coming.”

“So, my battle.” Gary said, “Is it… going to happen?”

“Yeah.” Misty sighed, “Ash, go get Officer Jenny, by the time you convince her you aren’t a criminal our battle will probably be over.”

“Alright, come on Pikachu!” Ash said, leaving.

“Uh, the pool’s kind of… full of rubble.” Gary said.

“It’s an added challenge!” Misty said, grinning, “Come on out, Gyarados!”

“...oh!” Gary said, “That’s why you’re letting me use two Pokemon.”

“Yep.” Misty agreed, “Send one out!”

“Exeggcute! Come on out, and use Leech Seed!”

“Gyarados, Flamethrower!” Misty called.

Exeggcute, who was happily floating, shot out their leech seed - which was intercepted by Gyarados’ flame and incinerated.

“Exeggcute, submerge!” Gary called, not a moment too soon, as Gyarados’ Flamethrower reached where Exeggcute had just been.

Exeggcute quickly re-emerged, as they were naturally buoyant and couldn’t stay under for long, but they had propelled themselves to the corner of the pool, so Gyarados’ flame didn’t hit them.

“That’s good.” Misty said, nodding, “But is it good enough? Gyarados, Dragon Rage!”

“GYAAARADOS!” Gyarados screamed.

Gary clenched his fists, “Exeggcute, Reflect!”

“CUTE!” Exeggcute called, covering itself in the Move, not a moment too soon, as the ball of purple energy rapidly emerged from Gyarados’ mouth and hurdled into Exeggcute, hurting them, but not as badly as it could have.

“...wait!” Gary said, “Gyarados isn’t actually Dragon-type, right, Exeggcute, use Confusion, then Solar Beam!”

“Egg!” Exeggcute called, using their psychic powers to juggle themselves, which confused Gyarados as he wondered how that was even possible - and then they slammed him with the Grass-type move.

Gyarados, while not uninjured, wasn’t anywhere near defeat. “Gyar! A! DOSSS!” He screamed, slamming into the pool.

“This is going to be a looong Gym Battle.” Gary commented.

“Better than the alternative!” Misty said cheerfully, “You know, when I take over full-time, Cerulean is going to become one of the hardest Gyms in Kanto!”

“...oh yeah, Giovanni’s going to retire soon.” Gary snarked.

Misty stuck her tongue out at him.

* * *

“Officer, I’m here to report a crime, not commit one!” Ash yelled, slightly muffled as an Arcanine was sitting on him.

“Hm…” Officer Jenny said, “What kind of crime?”

“The Cerulean Gym was attacked by Team Rocket!”

“Oh, Team Rocket! Right, they probably stole that suction device.” Jenny nodded, “Fair enough, come on Arcanine!”

“Arc!” The canine barked, getting off Ash and following her trainer.

“...That’s one crazy Jenny.” Ash said, standing up and brushing himself off.

“Tell me about it.” Pikachu said, trying to extricate himself from the net he had become tangled in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said I'd post a chapter no later than the 18th, and I did it! I posted it on the 18th! 30 minutes to midnight, but still!
> 
> I also said I'd have multiple episodes covered in this chapter... yeah, it didn't quite work out that way. Woops. I think that the battles flow better now, but I'll keep working on how I write them. Team Rocket actually went to Cerulean of their own accord, completely bypassing Mt. Moon - and now they know that Ash and co. are at Cerulean, which is past Mt. Moon on the traditional path ;3
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!


	6. PokePatch Ash.6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash and his friends search far and wide - and what do they find, exactly? Friendship, new experiences, and triumphs. And Team Rocket.

It was noon on what would have been a very nice day - except for one glaring problem. “Zubat.” Ash said, looking up from the fire he was building.

Pikachu groaned and rolled over so that he was laying on his stomach. “I got the last one.” He said.

“And Wartortle got the 3 before that.” Gary commented, looking up from his book.

Brock chimed in with “I have Onix defending our back.” Then he picked up a porkchop and put it on the cutting board he’d placed on the ground, gesturing for Geodude to start tenderizing it. “And I’m making lunch.”

Misty groaned and sent out Staryu. “Why are there so many Zubat here, anyway?”

Ash added a few more sticks to the fire and sat back. “I want to know why they keep attacking us.” He said, “We’re just sitting here.”

“It’s Mount Moon.” Gary said, shrugging. “What do you expect?” With that he turned his focus back onto his book.

“We’re only at the base though.” Ash reasoned. “Meowth, use Scratch!”

“Meowth!” Meowth agreed, throwing a casual Scratch in as she utterly demolished a fallen tree.

“You know” Brock started, “when I asked you to get firewood, I expected you to collect branches. Not have Meowth use a fallen tree as a scratching post.”

“Eh.” Ash said. “I’ve collected a lot of fallen branches, and I’ll collect so many more in the future. May as well innovate every once-in-a-while.”

Brock stopped Geodude and flipped the chop the Pokemon was working on. “Fair enough.” He allowed, motioning for Geodude to resume tenderizing.

“The Zubat’s almost unconscious.” Misty commented. “Anyone want it?”

Ash shook his head, even though he was sprawled on the ground next to Pikachu.

“I’ll pass.” Gary said absently.

“Ok.” Misty shrugged and let Zubat fly off. “This is why we spent less than one day here last time, isn’t it?”

Gary, still doing his best to focus on his book, said “I was here for 20 minutes, battled at least 50 Zubat, then decided I didn’t want a Clefairy that badly.”

“Zubat.” Ash said. “Again. Meowth?”

“Meowth!” Meowth called, then pounced on the Zubat.

Misty winced at the cat Pokemon’s enthusiasm. “Is that… wise?” She asked.

“She knows when to lay off.” Ash said.

“Bat!” The Zubat cried, then flew off.

Ash looked at Misty. “See?”

“Yeah.”

* * *

After lunch, they set out for Mount Moon proper. “You sure it was today?” Misty asked.

After making sure Pikachu was secure on his shoulder, Ash answered. “Positive!”

“There’s that swarm of Zubat!” Pikachu cried, pointing.

“And there’s another swarm of Zubat.” Gary said, pointing in a different direction. Then he spotted another further up the mountain. “And a third one.” 

Brock looked at all three swarms, and then squinted even more than he usually did. “I think I see a man in that first swarm.” He said. “Even if it’s not the right one, we should probably check it out.”

“Right!” Ash said, running forward. “Pikachu, Thundershock!”

“Chu!” Pikachu called, shooting out a visible bolt of electricity that stunned 5 Zubat and scattered the rest.

“Thank you!” Called the man, “The Zubat have been acting strange recently.”

“Team Rocket?” Misty asked.

The man’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Could be. I’ve seen suspicious people around recently, and strong lights were installed in the caves. Zubat don’t like strong lights, so naturally they’ve been a little… peeved.”

Brock scanned the downed Zubat and threw a Pokeball at one in particular. “Do you know why Team Rocket’s been interfering?” He asked.

“They’re probably after the Moon Stone - the big one, that is.” The man said. “I’m Seymour - I’ve been studying the Stone, and the Pokemon that live around it.” He stuck out his hand.

After the requisite round of introductions, and the routine shock people expressed when they heard Pikachu speak for the first time, Ash and co. agreed to help Seymour out.

* * *

“Hi there!” Ash said, smiling at a Clefairy. He absently scanned it with his Pokedex, and noticed Gary doing the same. “Are you doing okay?”

“Cle!” Clefairy states. “Fairy, Clefairy!”

Ash crossed his eyes and thought for a moment. “You’ve seen weird people, huh?” He asked again, getting a nod of confirmation. “Let me guess: two humans, blue and red hair, and a Meowth?”

“Fairy!” Clefairy said nodding.

Pikachu waved from Ash’s shoulder. “If you lead us to them, we can get them out of your hair.”

“Fairy!” Clefairy said, and then jumped, narrowly escaping being trapped in a net.

A figure walked up, shrouded in shadow. “Youse guys again?” Meowth asked, aggravated. “What’re youse doin’ here? We came here ‘cause youse were past here!”

“That’s out of character.” Pikachu said.

Meowth shook his head, “It ain’t.” He turned and called down the tunnel; “Jessie, James! We gotta scram, it’s the Twerps wit’ dat talking Pikachu again!”

“What, really?” James called. “Are they stalking us!?” He actually sounded disturbed by that. Go figure, they stalked Ash and Pikachu for years, but the moment they thought they were getting a taste of their own medicine they were shocked and disturbed.

“If Archer hears about this he’ll demote us to Grunts!” Jessie cried, sounding distraught. “It’s just not worth it!”

“Yeah. Honest criminals just can’t get a break these days.” James said, voice echoing in the cave. “Leave the Clefairy, Meowth, let’s get out here. It’s not worth it.”

With that, the Rocket trio left.

Seymour stared at where the trio were for a moment. “That was… weird.” He said, shaking his head. “You know those people?”

Pikachu stretched and shrugged. “Kind-of. Long story.”

“Oh well.” Seymour smiled at Ash and his friends. “Thank you for getting rid of them.”

Clefairy walked up to Ash and waved to get his attention. “Clef! Fairy Clefairy!”

Ash crouched down and frowned at Clefairy. “You want to show us something?”

“The Moon Stone.” Pikachu clarified, “As thanks.”

“Sounds good to me!” Misty said.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing it.” Gary commented.

* * *

Gary nodded, impressed. “That’s a big Moon Stone alright.”

“Yep, pretty huge.” Brock said.

Clefairy walked up to it and slotted their shard into it, and the Stone started glowing brightly.

“It’s a spaceship!” Seymour declared, “And it’s meant to take humans and Pokemon to outer space!”

Gary took a step back and raised his hands in a placating manner. “Sure, buddy.”

“Humans and Pokemon have been to space, though.” Ash said, scratching his head. Pikachu moved to stand in front of Ash, just in-case Seymour turned out to be violent-crazy this time around instead of harmless-crazy.

“Well, yes,” Seymour looked a little sheepish, “But I want to go on this.” He gestured to the giant Moon Stone.

“Well… good luck I guess.” Misty said.

“Yeah!” Ash smiled. “Good luck!”

* * *

“That was weird.” Gary said as they sped away from Mount Moon and its Zubat.

Brock shrugged. “Eh, not the weirdest we’ll see.” He looked out into the distance. “There’s a stop sign ahead.”

Gary started slowing down. “Thanks. It’s good having someone who can properly see out the windshield wheel riding shotgun…”

“Ash.” Misty said, looking worried, “The Rockets mentioned an Archer.”

Ash looked at Misty, “Did they?” He asked, “You don’t think it’s the same Archer, do you?”

“We did talk about your grandpa’s possible involvement with Team Rocket.” Gary said.

Ash nodded, looking conflicted. “Yeah... But Archer seemed nice.”

Pikachu laughed, “Ash.” He said, “You think everyone’s nice unless they abuse Pokemon. You even think the Legendaries that almost kill you are nice!”

Ash looked sheepish, “They usually are nice, though.”

* * *

Gary stopped the car in a clearing. “Ok, I’m going to go get gas and catch some more of my old Pokemon.” He said, “You sure you have business here?”

“Yep.” Ash nodded. “See you in half-an-hour?”

“Count on it.” Gary nodded, let out Warortle so he’d have someone in the passenger seat, and drove off.

Misty looked around, frowning. “What was here?” She asked, “Did Team Rocket steal candy from a baby or something?”

“It’s that trainer who whips his Pokemon.” Ash said, pointing at the sign. “Let’s go, Pikachu.”

“Yeah!” Pikachu agreed.

* * *

“2 Badges? The Gym Leaders must really be pathetic.” A.J. taunted, cracking his whip. “You’re going to be my 99th consecutive win, my stepping stone to becoming a Pokemon Master!”

“I’ve had at least 99 wins.” Ash commented, “And a lot more losses. I’d say losing helps you grow more than winning, actually.”

A.J. scoffed. “Then you’re about to grow a lot! Sandshrew, go!” He threw his Pokeball and Sandshrew manifested.

“Shrew!” Sandshrew announced, baring his teeth.

“Pikachu!” Ash called, and Pikachu jumped off his shoulder.

“Don’t you know what type advantage is?” A.J. called out.

“Yes I do. Pikachu, Iron Tail!”

Pikachu ran forward and jumped, his tail shimmering grey with Steel-type energy.

“Sandshrew, Dig and get out of the way of that electric rat!” A.J. yelled.

Sandshrew disappeared into the ground, but not before getting beaned over the head by Pikachu’s tail.

As Pikachu landed, Sandshrew dug up right under him and slapped Pikachu with a paw. Pikachu retaliated by biting Sandshrew, and scratching him as well.

“Sand Attack!” A.J. ordered.

“Dodge it!” Ash countered.

Sandshrew pulled himself out of the ground, kicking a lot of sand at Pikachu in the process.

Pikachu turned and ran in the opposite direction, waiting it out.

“That’s it Pikachu, make him come to you!”

A.J. twitched, “Sandshrew, get up close and hit him with your Poison Sting!”

Sandshrew curled up into a ball and rolled towards Pikachu. When he got close enough, Sandshrew uncurled and his tail glowed with purple energy - energy that Pikachu deflected with an Iron Tail, and then countered with a bite. Not the Dark-type move, just a bite.

“Finish it, Pikachu! Iron Tail again!” Ash called.

Pikachu jumped up and then slammed tail-first into Sandshrew, knocking him out.

“You beat me.” A.J. said, eyes wide as Sandshrew was automatically Returned. “You-”

“Yeah, I did beat you.” Ash said, “And now I’m going to report you to Officer Jenny.”

“What!?” A.J. asked, aghast. “But-”

“You beat your Pokemon.” Ash said, “Physically. That’s not training, that’s abuse, and it’s illegal.”

Brock walked in from the sidelines. “He’s right.”

“But they’re just Pokemon!” A.J. said, looking distraught. “I don’t think they’re stupid or anything, but… They’re Pokemon! It’s training! And I’m not going to punish Sandshrew for losing, so it’s not abuse!”

“Tell it to the judge.” Misty said dispassionately. Last time they’d been 10, 12, and 15 respectively, and had all been a little dumb. This time they were mentally 17, 19, and 22, and they all knew better.

“You’re young, they’ll take that into consideration.” Brock said soothingly, “You’ll have to take sensitivity training in order to keep your trainer’s license, but it won’t be as bad as if you’d been caught later.”

“But-” A.J. spluttered, “But- my Pokemon don’t mind! They’re really loyal to me, they love me!”

“That’s actually a symptom of abuse.” Brock said gently. “If abuse is all a Pokemon knows, they get confused. If you beat them and are also affectionate to them, it kind-of crosses the wires in their brains.” He shook his head, “If it was a battle it’d be okay, because then they’d be able to fight back. But it’s not a battle. You’re supposed to be their trainer. You’re supposed to help them, not hurt them.”

“But-” A.J. began.

Misty scowled and interrupted him. “Stop trying to rationalize it, you abused your Pokemon!” She crossed her arms and turned her head away from A.J. “Accept it and start attoning.”

A.J. bowed his head. “I… I didn’t know it was bad.” He said weakly. “I thought that was how all good trainers treated their Pokemon!”

“A lot of people treat their Pokemon like that.” Ash said, face grim. “A lot of them are successful Trainers. That doesn’t mean they’re good trainers. Grow from this, okay?”

“...okay.” A.J. said. “I will. Are you… still going to report me?”

Ash nodded, grimacing. “Yeah.”

“Okay.” A.J. said, closing his eyes and clutching Sandshrew’s Pokeball to his chest. “Okay.”

* * *

A red car pulled up. “I’m back.” Gary said unnecessarily. “Fun detour?”

“No.” Pikachu responded, looking glum. “Not really.”

Ash patted his electric buddy on the head. “We reported a trainer for Pokemon abuse.” He said.

“Ah.” Gary nodded, looking uncomfortable. “Yeah. That’s not fun.”

Ash turned to look at Gary, “Did I mention that you’re my favorite rival?”

Gary shook his head, “You haven’t.” He said, “You also haven’t mentioned any of your other rivals. I assume they weren’t as nice to their Pokemon as we are?”

“Paul abused his Pokemon.” Brock said, “But in a way that’s impossible to prove.”

“Trip was a jerk.” Ash continued, “Iris called him a bigot.”

“Didn’t you have a rival in Alola?” Misty asked. “Gladion or something?”

“He loved his Pokemon.” Ash said, “And he was nice - but we weren’t really close. Aside from that Alolan Rangers thing where we were superheroes.”

Pikachu scratched his ear. “That was weird.” He said.

Ash shrugged, “I guess it was, but not compared to the stuff we usually do.” Ash shook his head. “Also, Gladion’s motivations were kinda heavy.”

Gary nodded, “I see. So I’m the best because I’m good to my Pokemon and the heaviest baggage I’ve ever carried was that stupid argument we had over that broken Pokeball.”

“Well, Kiawe was my rival too.” Ash said, “And Ritchie, Nando, even Conway. You’re my favorite because you’re a good person.” He grinned, “And you’re my best friend.”

“Thanks man.” Gary said, patting Ash on the back. “You’re my favorite rival too.”

Ash smiled.

“You’re also my only rival.” Gary continued.

Ash’s smile didn’t even dim, “Thanks!” he said brightly.

* * *

“Pokemon Tech?” Gary asked incredulously. “Really? The place that churns out cannon-fodder trainers who think that Pokemon are organic machines?”

Ash grimaced. “Yeah. Last time we ended up giving half their student body a wake-up call.”

“Want me to get my Growlithe and commit arson?” Gary quipped.

Misty elbowed her way past the two 17-year-old 10-year-olds. “No way, not before I get my rematch.” She cracked her knuckles and checked to make sure the Pokemon she wanted were on-hand.

* * *

Giselle’s eyes widened. “But - Graveller’s been trained really well! He should be able to defeat any Water-type, regardless of type advantage!”

“I’m a Gym apprentice.” Misty said, “And I resent the implication that my Pokemon aren’t well trained!”

Giselle winced, but before she could defend herself Misty continued. “And I spend a lot of time with my Pokemon - they’re my Pokemon, and I’m their trainer. They don’t get passed around a bunch of trainers, it’s just me, so they know what I’m thinking before I say it. I know how they think and act and can plan accordingly.” Misty put her hands on her hips. “Being a Pokemon trainer is about more than having a well-trained Pokemon! It’s about more than being a good trainer on paper! You have to know your Pokemon, you have to have a connection with them!”

Ash nodded in appreciation and gave Misty a thumbs-up.

* * *

Gary, Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock were carefully following Ivysaur through the forest. A specific part of the forest, in-fact. “Hey, I was caught by those traps last time!” Gary said.

Ash looked back at him. “Yeah, we were too.” He replied, “But Ivysaur’s from here, so he knows how to bypass them!”

“Saur!” Ivysaur agreed.

A woman peeked out from behind a tree. “Bulbasaur?” She asked.

Ivysaur ran forward and jumped into her arms. “Saur!” He happily croaked.

“You evolved!” She said, shocked. “That’s amazing! I guess you’ve been up to a lot this past week, huh?” She looked up. “Are you his trainer?” She asked Brock.

“Uh - I - uh -” Brock stammered, wanting to say yes but knowing that Misty or Gary would hit him.

“I’m Ivysaur’s trainer!” Ash said, walking forward. “And he’s been great!”

“I’m glad!” She said, smiling. “Anyone Ivysaur approves of is welcome here.” She gestured for them to follow her. “Come with me, we can chat and have tea.”

* * *

Gary stretched, smiling. “That was nice.” He said as they left Melanie’s secret Pokemon village.

Ash nodded. “Yeah. Even if we didn’t need to go there, I’m still glad we went.”

“Oh my sweet Melanie…” Brock muttered to himself.

“Odd that there was no Team Rocket.” Misty commented, “Maybe they really are avoiding us?”

Pikachu nodded doubtfully. “Maybe.” He said.

* * *

“Route 42, right?” Ash asked, stretching.

Brock looked at the map. “Yep.”

“What’s on Route 42?” Gary asked.

“Charmander.” Pikachu said, “But… uh… Fair warning, he’s not in good shape.”

Gary winced and looked at Ash. “So Ivysaur was originally an abandoned Pokemon, and I guess Charmander wasn’t treated well either. Squirtle?”

Ash sighed, “He runs a gang of abandoned Squirtle.” He said.

“Really?” Gary asked, “So many people abandon their Starters?”

“People are dumb.” Pikachu said bluntly. “You should be glad you didn’t see what happened with Tepig.”

Ash winced. “Yeah. I feel like in every region except Alola I ended up rescuing an abused or abandoned Pokemon.”

“Johto?” Misty asked.

“A Pokemon that was being stalked by someone who clearly wasn’t a nice trainer.” Pikachu said.

Misty nodded in recognition. “Yeah.” She grimaced. “People are dumb, you’re right.”

They walked along Route 42 with Gary’s car safely in its Pokeball, and eventually came across a Charmander perched on a rock.

Ash walked up to him and crouched down. “Hey buddy, you doing alright?” He asked.

“Char.” Charmander said. “Char char!”

Ash shared a glance with Pikachu. “He’s waiting for his trainer.”

Misty crouched down with Ash, looking at the small Fire-type. “Poor little guy.”

“Hey.” Pikachu said, looking at Charmander. “If we come back with your trainer and he Releases you, will you come with us?”

“CHAR? Char char!” Charmander said, “Mander! Char char charmander!” He stood up on his hind legs. “Charmander!”

Ash looked at Charmander speculatively. “That’s not a no.” He said.

“Charmander’s in denial.” Pikachu clarified, “He doesn’t think his trainer abandoned him.”

* * *

“That Charmander?” Damian scoffs. “Yeah I abandoned it. It was too weak. The stupid thing’s still waiting for me?”

Brock gritted his teeth. “You told him that you were coming back.” He said evenly.

“Well-” Damian began.

“How many badges do you have?” Misty asked.

“Well… 1.” Damian said.

Misty smiled sweetly. “Lt. Surge?” She asked.

“Yeah.” Damian nodded, “How’d you know?”

“Because Surge doesn’t know how to recognize Pokemon abuse.” Brock said, “The rest of us do, but Surge has a skewed view of Human-Pokemon relations because he was in the American military.”

“But despite that Surge is a good person at heart.” Misty said, “Unlike you.”

Damian paled under the 4 glares he was getting. “What do you want me to do, go back for that Charmander?” He scoffed. “My team’s no place for weaklings.”

“That’s weird.” Pikachu said, “Because that’s the only kind of Pokemon that would follow a weak trainer like you.”

Ash waved and got Damian’s attention. “Give me his Pokeball, and stop being an ass.” He said bluntly.

“His Pokeball? Sure, whatever.” Damian handed it over. “Now will you leave me alone?”

“Yeah.” Ash nodded. “We will.”

With that, Ash, Brock, Misty, and Pikachu left the Pokemon Center. Gary hadn’t been with them, instead he’d been having a little conversation with Nurse Joy about Damian.

* * *

“Charmander?” Charmander asked.

Ash looked at Charmander sadly, holding his Pokeball. “Charmander, Return.” He said, and Charmander did so. Ash immediately sent Charmander out again.

Ash crouched down and hugged his new-old Fire-type. “I’m sorry, Charmander.” He said sadly.

“Char!” Charmander wailed. “Mander Charmander!”

“Okay, what is it with people and being awful to Pokemon?” Gary asked, “Seriously?”

“There’s an entire villainous Team in Unova that’s based on stopping Pokemon abuse.” Pikachu commented.

Gary tilted his head, “Really?” He asked.

Pikachu nodded. “Yeah. They’re actually kind-of awful, and they’re called the ASPCA.” Pikachu coughed. “Sorry, I mean they’re called Team PETA - uh, Plasma, and they claim they want a world where Pokemon are ‘free’ of human influence, but really they want a world where Pokemon are subservient to Team Plasma alone.”

“Oh, they sound great.” Misty said, rolling her eyes.

Brock shook his head, “I usually try not to judge people, who knows what their backstories are - but these Team Plasma people just sound evil.”

“They brainwash children, too.” Ash said, briefly looking up from his distraught Fire-type.

Gary grimaced. “I forgot that your life was really weird.”

* * *

“So do we play the Squirtle Squad thing straight?” Brock asked.

Ash shared a glance with Pikachu, then nodded. “Why not.”

“It ended up reforming them into firefighters, at-least.” Pikachu said.

Gary shook his head. “You really are some kind of human Absol.” He said as they fell into a pitfall trap.

* * *

“So how many Pokemon do you have now?” Gary asked Ash. “I have 24 myself - this time last time I had at least 40, but I didn’t use them all in battle…”

“Well, let’s see.” Ash said consideringly. “Pikachu, of course. And Froakie, but I don’t use him that much because he’s still a baby.”

“And Meowth, Pichu, and Ivysaur.” Pikachu commented.

“Right.” Ash nodded. “Then there’s Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Charmander, and now Squirtle. So 9 in total. Plus your car.”

“Dark-type.” Pikachu said, “We need a Dark-type for Sabrina.”

“Yeah.” Ash nodded, “But Lt. Surge is next, then Erika, so we don’t have to worry for a while.”

“So we’re here to catch a few of my Pokemon.” Gary said, not mentioning where ‘here’ was because they all knew where they were, so why bother mentioning a specific place name. “Where to next?”

“Ash caught Krabby near Bill’s lighthouse.” Brock said, “Do we want to actually go to the lighthouse this time, though?”

Ash considered it, “Well… Bill was nice.” He said, “And we helped him get out of his fursuit. So let’s go!”

“Fursuit?” Gary asked, eyes wide. “What?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Misty said, patting Gary on the back.

Brock shuddered, shaking his head. “Remember Harley?”

Pikachu nodded. “Yeah.” He stretched and repositioned himself on Ash’s shoulder. “Bill’s way better than Harley.”

“Harley wasn’t even a furry.” Ash added, carrying Charmander in his arms. “He was just weird and hated May.”

“I’m still stuck on this guy who ended up stuck in a fur-suit.” Gary said.

“Charmander.” Charmander said, “Char char.”

Pikachu nodded, “Yeah, what he said.” 

* * *

“So Bill, the Pokemon you’ve been interested in is a Dragonite?” Gary asked.

Bill nodded. “Looks like.” He stretched and yawned. “Well, I’m not disappointed. Dragonite are really beautiful, aren’t they?”

“Yep.” Gary nodded, sending out his Scyther. “Scyther, fly over and engage Dragonite with Wing Attack!”

“Ther, Scyther!” Scyther said, nodding and flying off.

Ash shot him an unimpressed look. “Really, Gary?”

“What?” Gary shrugged. “Dragonite are cool, and rare. Grandpa has one.”

Ash nodded, “Yeah I know, they’re great Pokemon, but c’mon man.” He gestured at Bill.

“Oh no, I have no problem with Gary catching her.” Bill said, shaking his head and turning to address Gary. “You’re Professor Oak’s grandson, right? I’m sure you’re a fine trainer.”

“Scyther, keep it up with Fury Cutter!” Gary called out.

* * *

“You used all 6 of your on-hand Pokemon and still barely caught Dragonite.” Ash said, cleaning Charmander’s scales. Bad trainers like Damian didn’t bother to take care of their Pokemon properly, (even Paul made sure his Pokemon were properly groomed) so Charmander would need extra TLC for a while. Squirtle would too, to an extent, but he’d been wild (more accurately feral, but Ash didn’t discriminate) so he wasn’t unclean. Squirtle just hadn’t been groomed to the standard that a Pokemon with a trainer usually would be, whereas Charmander had been ignored and neglected.

Gary shrugged, using a fine-toothed comb to sort out his Grolithe’s tangles. “I got him in the end.” He patted Growlithe on the head, finished. “And I’m a ‘new’ trainer, after-all, with fresh Pokemon.”

Ash grinned at Gary. “You callin’ Wartortle fresh?”

“He knows a lot, but he doesn’t have a lot of practical combat experience. Your Ivysaur’s at least 10 years old, in comparison, and he’s had a decent amount of experience.” Gary said.

Ash shook his head and focussed on Charmander. “Yeah, I guess not all Pokemon can be like Pikachu.”

Gary rolled his eyes. “Yeah, not every Pokemon is a crazy strong prodigy, go figure.”

Ash turned away from Charmander, pausing in his ministrations, and stuck his tongue out at Gary. Then he went back to grooming Charmander.

Charmander cooed. “Good boy, you like that?” Ash asked, smiling.

“He likes having your attention.” Gary said.

“Doesn’t mean he doesn’t also like me grooming him.” Ash returned.

Gary shrugged and let Arcanine wander off. He sent out Wartortle. “Fair enough. Want to send out Squirtle and I can wax both their shells?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Ash nodded, sending out Squirtle. “Remember when we were really rivals?”

Gary grimaced. “I was a jerk.”

“And I was an idiot.” Ash said, smiling. He’d also been really prideful, which was probably a symptom of him being a dumb 10-year-old. “We’ve both changed.”

“Mander!” Charmander said happily.

* * *

“So, Surge tomorrow, huh?” Gary asked.

“Yep.” Ash nodded. “Surge.”

“That guy.” Pikachu said, holding back a snarl. “Really ticks me off.”

“Yeah, Surge has a problem with extreme force.” Misty said, “But he doesn’t realize it’s a problem.”

Brock nodded, “He thinks all Pokemon should be battle-hardened and extra-tough, and he battles like he’s still in the army.” Brock shrugged, “It’s a soft introduction to how certain trainers operate, so the League lets him stay and doesn’t force him to go to therapy.” The way Brock phrased that last part, it was clear that he thought Surge should be forced to see a therapist. Or at least heavily encouraged.

“He all-but-said that unevolved Pokemon were useless!” Pikachu said. “That’s stupid, and it’s wrong!” Pikachu’s fur bristled with indignation, and Ash gently patted it down to try to calm his partner.

“At least he fought you.” Gary said, shaking his head. “He didn’t want to fight me until I got ‘a good, strong Pokemon’?”

Brock nodded, “That’s just how Surge is. He’s a bit of a jerk.”

“Also he wants kids to be safe.” Misty said, playing devil’s advocate “And having strong Pokemon is their best bet.”

“Yeah, but this is Kanto! In Japan!” Gary said, “I guess it’s not the safest place in the world… but it’s pretty close, considering the entire world is full of wild Pokemon, and Japan is kinda densely populated. And it’s not like it’s an active war zone, and when wild Pokemon attack they don’t go for the kill. Most of the time.”

“I mean, I’ve come across a lot of dangerous situations in Japan.” Ash said, raising a finger.

“Sorry Ash, but I think we’ve established that you don’t count.” Misty said, patting him on the back.

Brock cleared his throat and decided to tactfully change the subject. “So who’re you gonna choose to fight him?” He asked.

“I already picked up Golem - well, Geodude now - so I’ll use him.” Gary said, “If it’s a multi ‘Mon battle I’ll use Dragonite. And it took evolving Squirtle to Wartortle for him to battle me last time, even though we both knew I wasn’t going to use a Water-type against him, so with Wartortle and Dragonite he’ll probably battle me now.”

Brock nodded, “Solid choice. Ash?”

“Pichu.” Ash said immediately.

“Really?” Misty asked, “I know Pikachu knows all his old moves and is regaining his strength, but Pichu…”

“We’ve been training her.” Pikachu said defensively, “She’s strong!”

“You’ve been training her, sure, but not on-screen.” Gary riposted.

Ash rolled his eyes and reached for her Pokeball. “Go Pichu!” He said, sending her out.

“Pichu?” She asked, looking at Ash inquisitively.

“Hi Pichu.” Ash said, smiling. “Pikachu, Thunderbolt.”

Misty’s eyes widened. “Wait-” She said, sounding worried.

“SUREEEEE!” Pikachu shouted, shooting a Thunderbolt at his diminutive cousin.

Pichu sneezed.

Brock blinked, “Lightning Rod?” He asked, “Huh…”

Gary gasped, “Oh, the patch!”

Ash nodded, “Yeah, looks like Lightning Rod’s been standardized to give electric immunity all the time to Pokemon that have it, not just after a certain point or in certain regions.”

“Wait, so idiosyncrasies like that aren’t going to be topics of study anymore?” Gary asked, “Damn, that’s sad. Those papers were always really well thought-out, though some of them had… weird conclusions.”

“I’m sure they’ll find something to write about.” Misty said, “Arceus is the Original Pokemon, but they can’t think of anything, can they?”

||I try.||

Misty coughed.

“So, Pichu!” Ash said, “Let’s show them what you can do! Use Charm!”

Pichu nodded, smiling, and stared at a spot of empty air. She smiled and said “Chuuu!” She scratched her ear, then rolled over on her back, still looking at that spot of empty air. She closed her eyes and chirped “Chu!”

“Tail Whip!” Ash announced.

“Pi!” Pichu ran forward and slammed into the same spot of air tail-first. “CHU!”

“I guess her tail’s too small to use that move properly.” Misty said, chuckling.

“Now use Play Rough!” Ash continued, posing theatrically.

Pichu rushed forward and viciously clawed at the empty air with her front paws, then turned and kissed the same spot that she’d slapped. “Chu…” She said, then turned to the ‘crowd’ and smiled cutely.

Ash threw his hands up and shouted “Now, Pichu! Finish with Seismic Toss!”

“Pi-” Pichu shouted, rushing forward. “CHUUU!” She declared, ‘grabbing’ the same spot of empty air she’d Played Rough with and ‘tossing’ it to the ground with extreme prejudice.

Ash and Pichu turned to the ‘audience’ and bowed, with Pikachu expertly keeping his position on Ash’s shoulder.

“Huh.” Gary said, clapping. “Pretty good.”

Misty was nodding, “I guess you put some thought into this, huh Ash?”

Brock looked contemplative. “Are you thinking about going into the contest scene?” He asked.

Ash blinked and shared a glance with Pikachu. “Hadn’t thought about it. Did that look like an appeal?”

“With a little work it could be one.” Brock said, nodding. “I don’t think it’d give May or Dawn a run for their money, but…”

“Huh.” Ash nodded, “I’ve done ‘em before, but I didn’t think about it. Pichu, are you interested in Contests?”

Pichu affected a shrug. “Chu?” She asked.

“We’ll talk about it later.” Pikachu told her, “Don’t worry about it.”

Pichu nodded and made her way to Ash’s free shoulder, content to stay out of her Pokeball for the time-being.

“So you’re going to use a Baby Pokemon to beat the champion of evolved electric types.” Misty said deadpan. “Are you trying to become some kind of urban legend?”

Brock chuckled, “You mean the kind of story trainers tell each-other after a random battle on a less-travelled route?”

“Like those weird ghost stories about kids who learn Moves and get spirited away by the government?” Gary asked, rolling his eyes to show what he thought about those stories.

“Or by Legendary Pokemon.” Ash added, “But those stories are real.”

Gary turned and looked at Ash. “Seriously?”

Ash laughed. “Does that really sound plausible, Gary?”

Gary gestured to… everything, and said “Time travel.”

Brock and Misty shrugged in unison. “Eh.” Misty said, “Time travel isn't that odd.”

“And I’ve time traveled because of Arceus more than once.” Brock added. “It happens.”

Gary shook his head and muttered something about becoming numb to weirdness.

* * *

“So I went first with Brock.” Gary said as they walked into Viridian city, “And you went first with the Cerulean Gym. So who goes first this time?”

Ash shrugged, “We both have good strategies, though I know Surge has defences against Ground-types.”

Gary raised an eyebrow. “I thought you fought him with Pikachu last time?”

Ash laughed, “Yeah, but he used Fighting-type moves against him too.”

Gary nodded, “Viridian is one of the cities Trainers go to for their early badges, and it’s likely that the Ground-type they bring to the table is also a Rock-type. I see.”

“Also, Fighting-type moves aren’t bad against pure Ground-types.” Brock added. “There isn’t a type advantage, but they’re a lot better than Electric-type moves… in that they actually do damage. And there’s always Iron Tail.”

Gary nodded again.

“That’s if he chooses to use his Raichu against you.” Misty added. “He might not.”

Brock held up his hand and wiggled it back and forth. “He does have other Pokemon… but he favors Raichu.” He said. “That’s the main reason Viridian is considered an early badge, because he’ll almost always use Raichu in a battle, and prefers one-on-one for Trainers with less than four badges.”

Their conversation petered off as they walked into the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy looked up and smiled as they walked up to her desk, “Good morning!” She said, “How can I help you?”

“Hi!” Misty said, taking charge this time. “We’ve been on the road for a few days and wanted our Pokemon checked out, if that’s ok!”

“Oh, certainly!” Nurse Joy said, then looked the group over. “None of you seem surprised by my appearance.” She said, “I guess you’ve been to a couple Pokemon Centers so far, huh?”

Ash laughed, “Yeah, you could say that!” Ash had been to dozens of Pokemon Centers, if not hundreds, and met so many of the Nurses Joy that he’d lost count.

Since their Pokemon weren’t particularly beaten up or tired, the check-up was relatively short, and Nurse Joy soon re-emerged with their Pokeballs. “Here you go! All set!” She handed them their Pokeballs and Pokemon. “And I have to congratulate all of you - your Pokemon are all well cared for.” She turned to specifically address Ash, “And Pikachu is delightful!”

Ash smiled, “He’s always been like that!”

“Well, long enough that ‘always’ is almost accurate.” Pikachu allowed.

Brock opened his mouth to say something to Nurse Joy, but thankfully the door burst open.

“Doctor!” A girl shouted, holding a beaten-up looking Sandshrew with a worried-looking boy trailing her. “Nurse! Help, please!”

Nurse Joy sighed, “Another one? Quick, get to the back room!” She said, then shook her head and turned to Ash’s group. “Do any of you plan on challenging the Vermillion Gym?”

“Yeah, we do.” Gary said, nodding.

Joy sighed, “I’ll keep that in mind. This is the 12th Pokemon brought in this month, and it’s all because of Lt. Surge.”

Ash and co. exchanged glances as Nurse Joy hurried off to fuss over the Sandshrew.

“It was 15 last time.” Pikachu said.

“Yeah, I guess we got here earlier.” Ash agreed, nodding.

“Is he really that bad?” Gary asked, “Most people consider him an early Badge.”

“How many challengers do you think he gets in a month?” Brock asked, “Because I know from experience it’s a whole lot more than 12 or 15. These are the ones that weren’t prepared at all, they thought they could lean on type-advantage or a few tricks.” Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu all took a moment to remember the boy who ran in with an injured Pidgey last time. Apparently Ash hadn’t been the only 10-year-old with a dearth of common sense.

Ash shook his head ruefully, “I guess I was one of those last time.”

“Yeah.” Misty said, nodding. “But you aren’t anymore.”

“Thanks.” Ash said, smiling. “Oh, Gary?”

“Yeah?”

“I want to go first this time.” Ash said.

“Sure.” Gary agreed easily, “No skin off Wartortle’s shell.”

“No skin on it, either.” Pikachu commented.

* * *

Ash opened the doors, and the five humans and one free-range Pokemon entered the imposing Gym.

A man and a woman greeted them - the woman was dressed like a jogger, complete with a sweatband around her head, and looked like she did actually work out. She showed that Lt. Surge liked to surround himself with strong people. The man looked like he’d been kidnapped from a leather bar - he showed that Lt. Surge was an equal-opportunity employer.

“Hey, boss” the man started, turning his head to look at the shrouded figure behind him. “Another victim fer the emergency room.”

The figure stood and slowly walked forward, easily dwarfing both of his employees. “Which one?”

Ash and Gary stood forefront, with Brock to Surge’s left and Misty to Surge’s right.

“Welcome to…. VERMILLION GYM!” Surge shouted, and Gary jumped back a little. It wasn’t a problem, since Surge’s target was Misty - he engulfed her in a bearhug. She patted his back a little.

“Hi, Surge.” She said.

“Oh, my next challenger’s a cute one!” He said playfully, then stood and ruffled Misty’s hair. “You ain’t actually challengin’ me though, right?” There was a glint in his eyes.

Misty shook her head, “Nah,” she grinned, “at least not this time!”

Surge laughed, “Ha, thought so.” He looked at the other three young trainers Misty walked in with. “Then who’s the challenger?”

Ash walked forward, “Me!”

Gary waved, “And me!”

“Not me!” Brock said, putting his arms up in an ‘x’ formation.

“Ha, fair enough!” Surge said, then walked forward and ruffled both Ash and Gary’s heads. “Okay, babies-”

“Uh.” Gary started, ducking out from under Surge’s massive hands. “We’re not babies.”

Surge grinned, and while it wasn’t a mean grin it also wasn’t a nice one. “I call everyone who loses to me a baby.”

Ash stepped forward, Pikachu at his heels “We haven’t lost to you yet!”   
Surge focussed on Ash, then at the Pokemon at his feet. “Ha!” He said, turning to address his employees. “Look at this, baby brought along a baby Pokemon!”

“I did, actually!” Ash said, and sent out Pichu.

“Chu!” Pichu chirped.

Lt. Surge stood dumbfounded for a moment, then laughed. “Oh, I see!” He said, “You brought along a Pikachu and a Pichu, and in your belt there you have big mama Raichu who you’re gonna fight with while her kiddies watch, is that it? I can respect that.”

“No!” Ash said, shaking his head, “I’m going to beat you with Pichu!”

Surge blinked, “Kid.” He said, “I don’t go easy on nobody - not even a small kid with a tiny baby Pokemon.”

“I know!” Ash said, “Pichu’s ready for this fight!”

“Chu!” Pichu said, cheeks sparking.

“I don’t like sending Pokemon ta the emergency room, you know.” The giant man said, “I don’t lose sleep over it but it’s not something I set out ta do. Battlin’ is something for strong Pokemon, not babies.”

Pichu walked up to Surge’s feet unnoticed. “Chu!” She announced, “Pi!” She concentrated and gave Surge a shock. “Chu!”

Surge shuddered and smiled. “This is a feisty one!” He said, “In a few months you’ll have a fine Raichu… and then you can challenge my Gym.”

“But I have 2 Badges!” Ash said.

“2 Badges or 7, unless you show me a strong Pokemon I ain’t lettin’ you fight me.” Surge said adamantly.

“Oh, is that all?” Misty asked, “Ash has a lot of strong Pokemon.”

“Then show ‘em!” The woman said, speaking for the first time. “Prove it and the boss’ll let you battle.”

Ash shrugged, “All my Pokemon are strong.”

“Ash, just send out Ivy-” Gary began.

“Ash!” Pikachu said, interrupting Gary and startling Surge and his official goons. “Why don’t you send out your 5th capture?”

“Uh…” Ash said, thinking for a moment. “Not Meowth - right.” He looked around and nodded. “Everyone!” He announced, “You might wanna step back!” And then he threw his Pokeball.

Lt. Surge watched as a whole car manifested in the lobby of his Gym. “What the everloving f-” The jogger elbowed him. “Kid, is that a Rotom?” Surge asked instead, staring at the car.

“Well, it’s a-” Ash began.

“Yep!” Gary said, “Yeah it’s a Rotom. Ash, please return your Rotom now.”

Ash blinked and shrugged. “Sure!” He said, returning the car. “Why though?”

Gary mouthed ‘research’ and ‘don’t want to get sniped’ at Ash. Ash shrugged. “So will you fight me?” He asked.

“I- yeah.” Surge said, nodding. “I can see you’ve got… some kinda strong Pokemon. If nothin’ else you can run over your enemies, huh? Raichu’ll have fun with that. Guess you’re one’a them unconventional trainers.” He shook his head, “Had me fooled with the Pichu routine. You fightin’ me with the Rotom, or what? I heard nerdlet over here” he pointed at Gary “mention an Ivysaur?”

“You heard right.” Ash said evenly. “Pichu, come here.” He said, and Pichu bounded over to his shoulder.

“Right. You’re goin’ first.” Surge said, pointing at Ash. “You” he pointed at Gary, “Show my people your strongest Pokemon when I’m gone, got it?”

“Sure.” Gary agreed, nodding.

“Right. Come on, kid.” Surge said leading Ash to the battle part of the Gym with Misty in tow for moral support. Brock stayed with Gary because it’d be rude to just leave him hanging.

* * *

“It’ll be one-on-one.” Surge said, “I’ll use my Raichu. You ready, kid?”

“Yeah!” Ash said, “Let’s go!”

“Right! One, two, three, go!” Lt. Surge yelled, throwing his Pokeball - and as Raichu manifested, Pichu hopped to the stage.

“Chu!” She yelled.

“Rai?” Surge’s Raichu said questioningly, then looked Pichu over. “Rai!” He laughed, looking back at his trainer. “Chu?” He asked, conveying his incredulousness.

“Kid, what are you thinkin’?” Surge asked, “You’re sendin’ a tiny baby against my Raichu! Why are you fightin’ with unevolved Pokemon anyway? Everyone knows you gotta evolve your Pokemon soon as you can, it’s the only way to become a Pokemon Master!”

“I respectfully disagree!” Pikachu called.

Surge’s Raichu looked up at Pikachu in shock. “Rai?!” He asked.

“Chu.” Pikachu said flatly.

“I beat you with Staryu!” Misty called.

“Yeah, but that was just trainin’!” Surge said. “And you never beat Raichu!”

“Are we fighting or not?” Ash asked.

“Fine, I’ll beat you, baby! But don’t come back ‘till you have 2 Raichu!” Surge said, “Raichu! Show this baby what a real Electric-type can do! Thundershock!”

“Rai!” Raichu announced, sending out a bolt of electricity.

“Take it, Pichu, then Play Rough!” Ash shouted.

“That little Pichu can’t take Raichu’s thunder!” Surge jeered, “Misty, what’d you bring me? A baby or an embryo!?”

“Just watch, Surge!” Misty called back, “Watch and learn!”

Pichu absorbed all the electricity Raichu shot at her and scoffed. “Chu?” She asked, and Raichu reared back. She ran forward, boosting her movements with Agility, and hit Raichu hard in the stomach. “Chu!” She chirped, “Pi?” She feigned concern, “Pichu!” Then she hit Raichu again and ran off.

“Tag.” Pikachu said quietly, and Ash nodded. That was one way to Play Rough. “Right.” Ash cleared his throat, “Pichu, keep using Agility, and back it up with Mega Kick!”

“Chu!” Pichu called, running forward.

“Not so fast!” Surge yelled, “Raichu, Takedown!” He shook his head, “Nice try with that Ability - Lightning Rod? Seen it before, but not like this. I ain’t about to let a trick like that beat me, though!”

Raichu let Pichu hit him, knowing that since he was bigger and stronger he could take it, then knocked Pichu back before she could ready another Mega Kick and rammed her into a wall. “Chu!” Raichu shouted.

“That was risky.” Misty said, “Raichu took damage from that, too!”

Ash grimaced, “Yeah, but look at Pichu!”

Pichu wobbled away from the wall looking dazed.

“Raichu, don’t let up!” Surge yelled, “Kid, if you’re gonna quit now’s the time - Mega Punch!”

“Chu!” Raichu yelled, walking towards Pichu and winding up his fist.

“Pichu!” Ash yelled, “Don’t give up!” Pichu’s ear twitched. “You can do this - you’re smaller and faster! You can avoid him!”

Pichu seemed to process this information and nodded. “Chu!” She yelled. And just after she yelled that, Raichu was there - and he punched her.

Pikachu winced, “Ouch.”

Pichu swayed back and forth and Raichu smiled and turned away, satisfied that the battle was over.

Pichu turned to Ash and winked, then bit Raichu’s tail.

“RIIIII!” Raichu shrieked and turned around, only to find that Pichu had scurried out of reach and moved to the far side of the arena. “CHU!” Raichu bounded forward, zeroing in on Pichu and using his momentum to gain speed.

Ash grinned, “That’s right, Pichu!” He yelled, “Use Agility… NOW!”

Pichu dodged out of Raichu’s way, and the orange Electric-type slammed into the wall. Maybe even Slammed into the wall. “Chu!” Pichu announced, and quickly got herself out of Raichu’s reach, though that wasn’t necessarily necessary, as Raichu was currently seeing stars.

Surge narrowed his eyes. “You can avoid and bait Raichu all you want, but one hit and you’re toast! He can take a lot!”

“I wonder!” Ash called, “Your Raichu, does he have Lightning Rod?”

Surge cocked his head to the side, “Yeah!” He called back, “He does, actually!”

“Oh, ok!” Ash nodded, “Right. Pichu, remember the accidental appeal?”

“Chu!” Pichu yelled, nodding.

“Right! Be careful!”

Raichu steadied himself, seemingly recovered from his Slam into the arena’s wall, and zeroed in on Pichu again. “Chu!” He yelled and started forward. Pichu darted back, and Raichu started forward again.

“Don’t let him-” Ash began.

“Box you in!” Pikachu finished, cutting his trainer off. “Sorry.” He said, slightly sheepish.

“Don’t worry about it.” Ash said, patting his favorite rodent on the head. No disrespect to Pichu, of course.

Pichu dodged around Raichu, and then suddenly Raichu found that Pikachu was right in front of him.

“Chu!” She said cheerfully, and Raichu noticed that her eyes were massive - and she looked rather small. She really was a baby. Cute and harmless, Raichu had to admit he was a little Charmed.

“Now!” Ash called.

Pichu’s entire demeanor changed as she jumped, twirling and hardening her tail, then slammed tail-first into Raichu in a very unconventional Tail Whip, lowering his defenses in the way that Tail Whip usually did.

“He’s dazed!” Pikachu yelled, “Don’t let up!”

Pichu rolled down Raichu’s back and ended up behind him. “Chu!” She announced, and Mega Kicked him in the back.

“Rai chu rai!” The big orange rat shouted, looking frazzled. He turned towards his trainer, “Rai?”

“Beat her, Raichu!” Surge shouted, “Just one good hit and you got ‘er! She moves fast and she’s tricky, but she’s taken a lotta damage already!”

While Raichu and his trainer were distracted Pichu snuck up to Raichu and braced herself.

Ash saw what she was doing and nodded. Right when she was ready, he yelled “Pichu! Seismic Toss!”

“CHUUU!” Pichu yelled, straining herself as she lifted the Pokemon that was at least 3 times her size and threw him as hard as she could.

“Agility! Don’t stop now!” Ash shouted.

Pichu ran forward and sniped Raichu with an ordinary scratch, then darted back as he sat up and rubbed his head.

Lt. Surge shook his head, “Kid, where did you find this Pichu?”

“She’s my cousin!” Pikachu shouted, “And she’s been trained well, that’s all!”

“I see!” Surge said, “You’ve got some crazy training regime, is that it? Kid, that’s all the more reason to evolve your Pokemon! Look what your Pichu’s done to Raichu - all those moves woulda been stronger if she was a Raichu!”

“And she wouldn’t have moved as fast.” Ash said, “Does your Raichu even know Agility? Or Quick Attack?”

Surge shook his head, “Nah.” He admitted, “Knows some Normal-type moves and a couple Fighting-type moves, but mostly electricity. Nothin’ that makes him go fast.”

“Bigger Pokemon aren’t as mobile as small Pokemon!” Ash announced, “Pichu may not be as physically strong as Raichu, or even as strong as Pikachu, but she has skill and precision! And we’ve worked hard to make sure she knows how to use it! Pichu, you good?”

“Chu!” Pichu called.

“Good!” Ash said, “Mega Punch!”

“Pi!” Pichu called, darting forward - and darting away without hitting Raichu, as Raichu was alert and swiped at Pichu when she got close. He stood up, ready to resume the chase.

“Raichu!” Surge called, “Stay where you are! React, both of you are immune to electricity, so no ranged attacks! She’ll have to come to you!”

“Rai!” Raichu yelled in agreement, sitting down and looking smug.

“What are you going to do, Ash?” Misty asked.

Ash shrugged. “Lose?” He asked, and Pikachu shocked him. He winced, “Okay, okay… Sweet Kiss!”

Pichu, her movement speed greatly enhanced by Quick Attack, ran in, barely dodging Raichu’s Brick Break, and kissed him on the cheek.

“We didn’t teach her Sweet Kiss. Did we?” Pikachu asked.

“Punch him in the face!” Ash yelled, then turned to Pikachu. “We didn’t.” He admitted, “But we taught her moves similar to it, so it was worth a shot.”

“And it paid off.” Pikachu said, nodding as a dazed and loopy Raichu was knocked back into the wall by Pichu’s Mega Punch.

Surge had been annoyed, then he’d been incredulous, then resigned, then determined - now he was exuberant like he’d been when they’d first entered the Gym. “Alright!” He yelled, “Your tiny baby Pokemon’s giving Raichu a run for his money! Raichu!”

“Rai!” Raichu called, sounding weary. “Chu!”

“Raichu, get ready to Body Slam that Pichu whenever she gets close!” Surge called, “Don’t worry about her dodging, just hit her, full power!”

“An ersatz Earthquake?” Pikachu asked.

Ash shook his head, “Raichu’s not big enough - probably.” He considered his options for a moment. “Pichu!” He yelled, “Stay out of Raichu’s reach!”

“Pi!” Pichu called, and stayed where she was.

Raichu also didn’t move.

Neither Ash nor Lt. Surge gave their Pokemon an order, the atmosphere was tense, Misty started chewing on her fingernails. Ash crossed his fingers behind his back.

Suddenly there was a crash. “Prepare for trouble!” Called a familiar woman’s voice.

“And make it double!”

“To protect the world from devastation!” Jessie called, looking very happy as she strutted through the hole in the wall.

“And make it double! Weezing, good job!” James said, patting his Poison-type who had somehow caused the wall to fall in.

“James!” Jessie said.

James winced, “Erm, I - To unite all peoples within our nation!”

Jessie sighed and shook her head. “To denounce the evils of truth and love.” She tried to put some ‘oomph’ into it, but the magic was lost.

“To extend our reach to the stars above!” James finished.

“Jessie!”

“James!” 

“Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!” Jessie announced with new resolve.

“Surrender now!” James announced and pretended to take a fighting stance, “Or prepare to fight!”

Meowth peeked his head through the hole. “Meowth! That’s right!”

“Wobuffet!”

The three Rockets looked around in confusion.

“Wobuffet!” Pikachu said again.

“Team Rocket!” Ash yelled, “What are you doing here?”

The trio turned to Ash.

“Twerp!” Jessie called, sounding resigned. “What are _you_ doing here?”

“You aren’t scaring us away this time!” James said, clenching his fist. “I don’t care what the consequences are!”

“James-” Meowth began.

Jessie cut him off. “He’s right, Meowth! We can’t run from this anymore. And we’re prepared for Electric-types. Go, Sandslash!” She yelled, throwing a Pokeball.

“Go, Graveller!” James threw his own Pokeball.

“Wow, they diversified.” Ash said, “Ground-types.”

“You’d think they’d have gotten a main Ground-type a long time ago…” Pikachu said absently.

“What is this!” Surge yelled, “Kid, you know these freaks?”

“They’re Team Rocket!” Ash yelled back.

Surge looked dumbfounded, then he started laughing. “Oh man, really?” He turned to look at the trio. “What are you, stupid?” He called, and they looked up at him.

Meowth seemed to think for a minute, “Nah!” He finally announced.

“I’m Lt. Surge!” Surge shouted, “Gym Leader of Vermillion City!”

“And?” James asked.

“Is that supposed to mean something to us?” Jessie asked flippantly. “Members of Team Rocket do as they please!”

Surge sighed, “Right. Electivire!” He threw one of his Pokeballs. “Raichu, Electivire, these folks don’t have brains - beat them until they sprout some.”

Ash reached for his belt. “Pikachu!” He said, addressing the ‘mon on his shoulder, then threw two Pokeballs. “Ivysaur! Meowth!”

“Meowwwwth?” Meowth asked, stretching.

“Saur.” Ivysaur said, blinking, then he spotted Team Rocket and shook his head. “Ivy ivy.” All three of Ash’s mentioned Pokemon advanced on the Rockets. Pichu held back.

Lt. Surge took a moment to survey Ash’s Pokemon - and so did the other members of Team Rocket.

“Hey, that’s a mighty fine feline!” Meowth said, “Ya can tell she’s specially bred! In fact...”

“That’s right!” Ash yelled, “My grandfather bred her specially to kick your asses!”

Lt. Surge started laughing very hard. “Oh!” He said, “Ah ha, oh wow! Kid, that’s -” He stopped making sense after that, his body racked with uncontrollable guffaws.

“That’s odd.” Jessie said, “Well, that’s one less trainer to-”

James shook his head. “Jessie.” He said, “I know why Archer was so mad at us.”

“Why?” She asked.

Meowth gulped. “I know that Meowth.” He said, “Boss had me play wit’ his Persian’s kittens, teach ‘em a few tings.”

“No!” Jessie yelled, “No that’s -” She looked at Meowth, looked at Ash, and processed what Ash said and then what Meowth said. Then she sighed. “We’re dead.”

“What?” Ash asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Kid!” Surge yelled, “Sir - we all know, don’t worry about it! Tested your mettle, tested mine, and theirs, yeah? I get it, trial by fire!” He turned to the Rocket Trio. “You understand what’s goin’ on?”

“Maybe.” James said, then shook his head. “No, actually.”

“I think I do.” Jessie said, “I think.”

“Meowth!” Meowth said, “Let’s scram!”

“Now that I definitely understand!” James said.

Ash was really confused - but he was a friendly guy. “Pikachu, let’s help them out!” Ash called. “Thunderbolt!”

“BLAST OFF!” Pikachu yelled, channeling a massive amount of energy through his cheeks, then out at the Rockets.

“Graveller, Return!” James called, rescuing his apparently new Ground-type.

“Sandslash!” Jessie yelled, holding out her Pokeball and sucking her Ground-type back into it even as the trio faded from view.

“Well!” Surge said, “I guess that’s that! Shoulda known something was up, you’re Giovanni’s grandson! It all makes sense now!”

Ash shrugged sheepishly, “Yeah, I guess it does!” He said. “Grandfather’s a strong trainer!”

“The strongest!” Surge nodded, “Yeah, you’ve proven you’re strong - I bet that Pichu’s chock-full of strong Electric attacks?”

“She does, but there wasn’t any reason to use them.” Pikachu said.

Surge nodded, “Right! And I bet you’re going to be evolved soon, huh?” He asked Pikachu. “And your cousin’ll be a Pikachu soon and then a Raichu, right?”

“If you want to make that bet you can.” Misty said, “It’s definitely something that you can do.”

“Giovanni knows what makes a Pokemon strong - he’d definitely teach his grandkid that.” Surge said, then shook his head. “Misty, you had me fooled! There I was, scoutin’ you out, figurin’ you wouldn’t be interested in this kinda thing!” He laughed good-naturedly. “Good to have you on our side!”

Misty flashed Lt. Surge an unsure smile. “Glad to be on your side? I think?” She said. To most people it would be clear that she wasn’t sure what was going on, but figured it was something shady.

To Surge, who’d helped train Misty on how to circumvent type-advantage, she was chewing around a problem. Maybe she hadn’t figured out the whole thing yet, Surge didn’t care - it was clear that she was friends with Ash. Ash was Giovanni’s grandson. Ash was going to take a leadership role in Team Rocket. Misty was Ash’s friend. She’d probably join the Team one way or another, the details didn’t matter.

“Well, on with the battle, right?” Ash asked.

Surge waved his massive ham-hand at Ash, having walked over to Ash’s side of the battlefield at some point. “Oh no!” He said, “Raichu’s had enough for one day! That super Pichu a’yours, definitely used some crazy Rocketto training techniques! Can’t fool me, not doing that again!” He shook his head, “I get it, your Pichu can beat my Raichu! This time, at least!” He smiled good-naturedly at Ash. “Here!” He handed Ash a Thunder Badge.

Ash looked at the Badge, then at Surge. Then at Pikachu, at Pichu who was looking tired and bruised, at Raichu who looked like he wanted to take a shower and forget this ever happened, and finally at Misty who looked confused and thoughtful. He also looked at the wall that Team Rocket had somehow caved in using a Weezing. He smiled. “Okay! Thanks, that was a good fight!” He said, taking the Badge. “Look, Pikachu! 3 down, 5 to go!” He said.

Surge smiled. “Some advice, kid.” He said. “Don’t try this kinda thing on Sabrina, okay? Get a Pokemon with type advantage, don’t rely on sneaky things, don’t do things you know’ll bug ‘er. Forget what her loyalties are, she’s unhinged.”

Ash blinked, “Uh… yeah!” He said, “Ghost or Dark-type! No punching the psychotic psychic!”

“Right!” Surge said, “Let’s go see your friend about his battle, then. Oh.” Surge held out a Pokeball. “Raichu, Return!”

“Pichu, come here!” Ash called, Returning Meowth and Ivysaur for the sake of convenience. “Ride in style!”

“Chu!” Pichu said, hopping on Ash’s shoulder as Pikachu jumped back up onto Ash’s other shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I last updated in October, and now it's late March. In my defense, I had about 4k of this chapter written, but I wanted to finish with Surge. And now I have to end with Ash's battle because I'm at 10k and if I don't stop myself I'll write 20k more and end up at Koga. (I have a plan for Koga, oooh do I have a plan) I swear I'll have next chapter out by May... of 2021. (Seriously tho I plan to have chapter 7 out before April turns into May, giving myself a whole month here)
> 
> So: Ash meets his official Kanto regional starters (well, he already had Ivysaur), technically bringing his Starter count up to 7. Go Ash, crash the system! Remember that throwaway comment where Misty mentioned she'd trained at the Vermillion Gym as part of her apprenticeship? Yep! In the actual episode Surge starts off thinking Misty's the challenger, and hugs her? I don't think it was meant to be creepy, but it was kinda weird, especially since he only ruffled Ash's hair/hat when he found out Ash was the real challenger.  
And if you think my description of Surge's goons is wrong or exaggerated I invite you to watch the episode. Ash, Misty & Brock's Kanto adventure is all on Netflix, it's called 'Pokemon The Series: Indigo League", and Surge's male goon really looks like he's from a gay leather bar. (As opposed to a straight leather bar /sarcasm)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, stay safe and inside if at all possible!


	7. PokePatch Ash.7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gary earns his Thunder Badge and witnesses the chaotic power of Team Rocket aboard the St. Anne! After a short but eventful holiday, Ash and his friends set their sites on Saffron city and prepare to confront Sabrina.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, 50,000 words. That's a lot. I've... gotten to doing 10k a chapter, that's kind of crazy asddfghgfdf.
> 
> If you're a new reader, welcome! If you're a returning reader, welcome back! Hope this doesn't sound too cheesy, but thanks for reading. Every view, every bookmark, every comment (even if I don't reply to all of them) makes me happy. <3

“Ok!” Gary said, striking a pose. “Ash got his turn, and now it’s mine! Lieutenant Surge, let’s battle!”

“Uh…” Lt. Surge scratched his head sheepishly, “Sorry kid, the main battle area kinda got destroyed.”

“What, really?” Gary asked, “That’s weird.”

“It’s Team Rocket.” Misty said, “That explains everything.”

Ash noticed that Lt. Surge’s goons looked shocked, but neither of them said anything. Well, it wasn’t every day that Team Rocket destroyed part of a Gym. Every other day, maybe, but not every day.

Brock nodded, “They do tend to target Ash specifically.”

“Yeah, sometimes I wish those three would give us a break…” Pikachu sighed.

“Well!” Lt. Surge spoke up. “I can still give you a battle… it’s just gonna have to be in here!”

“What, really?” Gary asked, “You do that?”

Surge shrugged, “The Gym’s built to withstand high-power Earthquakes, so why not?”

“I mean, it’s your Gym. Go, Geodude!” Gary called, sending out his Geodude.

“What, another unevolved baby?” Surge asked, shaking his head. He pointed at his goons and held up two fingers. 

“Right! It’ll be a two-on-two.” Surge’s jogger goon said, “Win conditions are knock-out or surrender!”

“Come out, Electivire! Show this pebble what a fully evolved Pokemon can do!” Surge called, sending out, to nobody’s surprise since he announced it, his Electivire.

Gary gazed thoughtfully at the Electivire, likely remembering his own. He looked at his Geodude. “Are you ready for this?”

Geodude affected a shrug. “Dude.” She said.

Gary nodded, “Got it.” He turned to Surge.

“Uh.” Ash raised a finger. “Should I leave?”

Surge shook his head, “Nah. You battled me, you won, why bother.” He grinned at Ash, then at Gary. “I’m a practical guy.”

“Yeah, fair enough.” Gary said. “I don’t have any problems with that. Oh, and I’m ready.”

“Then… start!” The jogger-turned-referee called.

“Geodude, Sand Attack!” Gary called.

“Electivire!” Surge yelled, “Low Sweep!”

“Vire?” Electivire asked.

Surge looked at Geodude and shrugged, “Oh, no feet. I usually deal with Golems, not the baby version…”

As Surge and Electivire were discussing how to kick the legs of a Pokemon that had none, Geodude slammed herself into the ground a few times to create a large cloud of sand, looking a bit peeved at the 'baby' comment.

“Low Kick.” Surge amended, “That oughta work.”

“Electivire!” Electivire agreed, running forward. “Vire!” He called, kicking at Geodude.

Geodude dodged Electivire’s foot and sent the cloud of sand into his eyes. “Geo!” She called.

“Get out of range of melee attacks and use Rock Throw!” Gary ordered.

“A game of keep-away, eh?” Surge asked, “I’m no stranger to a battle of attrition! I just fought one, as a matter a’ fact! Electivire, don’t let them stall or extend the match! Use Toxic!”

“Vire!” Electivire agreed, walking forwards in a poisonous manner.

* * *

“Uh, I hate to interrupt your refereeing.” Ash said, walking up to Surge’s goons and interrupting their refereeing. “But are any of Lt. Surge’s Pokemon… fast?”

The goons exchanged a glance, and the gay biker spoke up. “Nah, not really.” He said, “If somethin’s too fast to catch, the boss can just have Raichu electrocute it. Why, what’s it to you?”

“Well, that’s really easy to beat.” Ash said, shrugging; “All you need is a fast Pokemon that’s immune to Electric-type moves and can take a few hits.”

“Eh, I’ll believe it when I see it.” The gay biker said, shaking his head. “Hasn’t happened yet.”

Pikachu looked at him like he was stupid. “It just did?”

The jogger shook her head, “Most people don’t have Rotom-possessed cars. Most of the time, power and speed don’t go together.”

“Oh yeah, you thought I was using Gary’s car to battle Lt. Surge!” Ash nodded, “Right. No, I used Pichu, like I said I was going to.”

Both goons stared at Ash.

Ash held up his Thunder Badge. “All I’m saying is: pure power isn’t everything.” He considered for a moment, “And Raichu can be fast as well as powerful… if you teach them speed-based moves before evolving them.”

“Well.” Pikachu started, “Maybe if Surge trained his Pokemon before evolving them he’d have a well-rounded team.”

The biker shook his head, “But what’s the point of trainin’ a weak Pokemon?”

Ash and Pikachu stared at him. “Uh.” Ash ventured, “To help the Pokemon be strong?”

“Nah, Pichu evolve into Pikachu when they mature.” The biker said, “And then you immediately evolve them into Raichu if you want to use them in battle.”

“You’re right, Pichu do evolve into Pikachu when they grow up.” Pikachu said, “But Pikachu don’t have to evolve into Raichu to be strong! And Pichu defeated Surge, a master of the Electric-type. Evolution isn’t everything!”

“Ok, training a Pokemon that isn’t fully evolved makes sense.” The jogger said, “And battling with ‘em - it’s all part of training, right?” She nodded, to herself “Right. But you gotta evolve them! You wanna be Champion, right? How far do you think you’ll get with unevolved Pokemon in your team?”

“Farther than you’d think.” Ash said testily. Then he shook his head and sighed, “I guess it’s not worth arguing over.”

“Yeah.” Pikachu said, “Usually there’s a rock slide or a Team Rocket attack to make people change their minds, but we already sent Team Rocket running.” Surge’s gym trainer goons still looked a little shell-shocked at the mention of Team Rocket.

“Yeah. I’m going to go back to watching my friend fight.” Ash said. “But!” He pointed at the goons, “Just watch this year’s League Conference and see how far I go with Pokemon that aren’t fully evolved!”

“Nice kid.” The gay biker commented as Ash walked back to his friends. “Naive, but nice.”

“Yeah.” The jogger nodded, “When he grows up and evolves that Pikachu he’s gonna be a great trainer.”

* * *

“Did I miss anything?” Ash asked.

Brock shook his head, “Not really.”

“Electivire!” Electivire shouted, rushing at a purple-tinged Geodude.

“Well, Geodude was poisoned.” Brock said, “But apart from that they just exchanged blows, weakened each-other, the usual.”

“Use Earthquake!” Gary shouted. 

“Geodude!” Geodude yelled, and slammed herself into the ground again, this time with the intent to shake it. And the ground shook, alright - it shook so much that Geodude and Electivire both took visible damage.

Geodude wobbled a little, but didn’t fall.

“Electivire!” Surge called, “Finish her, Cross Chop!”

“VIRE!” Vire yelled.

“To translate, Electivire said ‘this is for you, mommy’.” Pikachu said.

“His mom must have been a Machamp.” Brock said, nodding.

“Aw!” Misty cooed, “That’s sweet!”

Electivire bore down on Geodude, one hand held high over his head. “ELECTIVIREEEE!” He shouted, bringing his arm down and Cross Chopping Geodude into oblivion.

“Dude…” Geodude said, then fainted.

“Good work, Geodude!” Gary called, “Return!”

“That’s 1-0 to Lt. Surge!” The jogger called. “Send out your next Pokemon!”

“Go, Dragonite!” Gary said, sending out not his Dragonite.

“Oh, a fully evolved Pokemon!” Sure said, “Finally, I thought I was going crazy! Good.” He shook his head, “Good! A Flying-type too, finally! Kid, you spoil me!” He laughed, “A fully evolved Pokemon that’s weak to Electric-type moves! Electivire, Thunder!”

“Electivire!” Electivire shouted in agreement, charging up Electric-type energy.

“Dragonite!” Gary called, smiling. “Earthquake!”

“Nite!” Dragonite called, jumping up and down on the ground a few times before taking off, making the ground tremble. Again.

“Oh, great.” Surge said, rolling his eyes.

Electivire sent out his Thunder - and the Electric-type move scored, paralyzing Dragonite.

Shortly afterwards, Electivire was hit with the full effects of Dragonite’s Earthquake. The second Earthquake he’d been hit with in short succession. It was super effective - and, since Dragonite was still in the air, albeit paralazyed and slowly descending, it had no effect on her.

“Is Electivire ok?” Misty asked.

“Well, he is an Electric-type.” Brock said, “And he just fought against a well-trained Ground-type. So even though he won, he wasn’t doing too well when Dragonite was sent out.”

“Dragonite is a powerful Pokemon, so I guess her Earthquake was enough to finish him off.” Ash added.

Lt. Surge seemed to agree. “Alright.” He said, “Nice fight, Electivire! Return!” After Electivire was safe in his Pokeball, Surge looked thoughtful. “Hm… Alright! Magnezone!” He called, sending out a Pokeball.

“That’s 1-all!” The jogger quickly announced as Magnezone materialized on the battlefield.

Lt. Surge’s Magnezone, like most Magnezone, looked like a stereotypical U.F.O. 

“Dragonite, fly high!” Gary called, “And watch out!”

“Gon!” Dragonite agreed, having recovered from her paralysis. She flapped her wings hard and quickly ascended, hovering just below the ceiling.

“Ok Magnezone, Zap Cannon!” Surge called.

Magnezone started powering up its magnet arms.

“Dragonite!” Gary yelled, “Dragon Rage!”

“Ite!” Dragonite chirped, and immediately shot a beam of purple energy at Magnezone.

“Zone!” Magnezone yelped, shooting off the Zap Cannon and juking to the left to dodge Dragonite’s attack.

“Dragonite!” Gary called, “Don’t get hit!”

“That’s not a very creative order.” Ash commented.

Gary turned his head to look at Ash, “But it’s effective.” He replied.

And indeed, it was effective, as Dragonite handily dodged Magnezone’s Zap Cannon by diving, letting the Electric attack hit the ceiling.

“Good work!” Gary said, thinking. “Use Agility, then Slam!”

Dragonite concentrated, briefly glowed pink, then dove towards Magnezone.

“Magnezone, watch out!” Surge warned.

Magnezone used Barrier, erecting a shield of light in front of themself.

“Dragonite, abort!” Gary called.

Dragonite, who was even more agile than normal, banked out of her dive with 3 quick wing-flaps, and returned to her previous position at the far corner of the room, near the ceiling.

“Dragon Rage!” Gary said.

Dragonite shot another beam of purple out of her mouth.

“I’m kind-of surprised Gary isn’t using Outrage.” Misty said. “It does more damage, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, but it isn’t Gary style.” Ash replied.

“Gary’s used moves that damage his Pokemon before.” Brock pointed out, “As finishers, not in the middle of a fight, granted.”

“No, not that.” Ash shook his head, “Outrage confuses the Pokemon that uses it - Gary doesn’t like making his Pokemon do that to themselves.”

“Huh.” Misty said, nodding. “Makes sense.”

“Ok Dragonite!” Gary called, “Use Dragon Rage again!”

“I guess Magnezone doesn’t know Light Screen.” Brock said wryly.

* * *

“Well, that’s that.” Surge said, handing Gary a Thunder Badge. “Battle went quick after you had your Dragonite spam Dragon Rage.” He commented.

Gary shrugged. “You were gonna keep sending Electric attacks, Dragonite was gonna keep dodging, Dragon Rage is a reliable attack...” 

“Not judgin’.” Surge shrugged, “Consistency can be a great strategy. Don’t fix what ain’t broke, right?” He turned away from Gary and the rest. “Alright, now get outta here, I gotta prepare before more Trainers come around for a butt-kicking!”

* * *

“Well.” Gary said as they ambled towards the Pokemon center, “That happened.”

“At least I didn’t lose to him this time.” Ash said, shaking his head.

“I wish we’d taught him and his Gym Trainers not to be stupid about evolution.” Pikachu said, sounding frustrated.

Brock shrugged, “Somehow, I don’t think that would have worked.” He said.

Misty turned to Ash, “Say, Ash, do you remember how Surge acted with Team Rocket?”

Ash cocked his head to the side, thinking. “He called them stupid and got them to run off. They’re a lot more skittish this time, aren’t they?” He laughed a little, “Why do you ask?”

“It’s probably nothing…” Misty said, shaking her head. “Let’s get your Pokemon healed up!”

* * *

“We messed up!” Meowth said. “We messed up bad!”

“Boss isn’t going to go easy on us!” James said from his position on the ground, in fetal position, sucking his thumb. “We’re cat food! Chew toys!”

Jessie was staring into the distance. Finally she turned to her teammates with a determined look on her face. “It was a test.” She said.

“What?” Meowth asked, voice cracking.

“That’s what Surge said, remember?” She continued, “He acted like us attacking the twerp was a test.”

“But it wasn’t!” James said, “Archer specifically warned us off him!”

“Yes!” Jessie nodded, a crazed glint in her eyes. “But we can say we thought it was a test! Boss told us to beware Electric-types, Archer yelled at us for attacking a talking Pikachu - We can even say that’s why we attacked Surge!”

“We attacked Surge ‘cause we thought he’d be easy pickin’s.” Meowth said, “Just get a couple good Ground-types and we can smash ‘im! But he’s Team Rocket! Why didn’t anyone tell us?”

“Who knows!” James said, “Nobody tells us anything!” He shook his head, “No, let’s ignore it.”

“Ignore it?” Jessie asked incredulously. “We attacked the Boss’s grandson! How can we ignore it?”

“Well, maybe it’ll blow over!” James theorized, “Surge thought it was a test, right? Maybe the kid does, too.” James dried his thumb on his pants. “Maybe they won’t mention it to Boss, or Archer!”

“Right!” Meowth nodded, energized. “And if anyone asks, then we can go wit’ what you said Jessie!”

“It’s foolproof!” James said.

“Right.” Jessie nodded. “So we lay low and let it blow over.”

“There’s an operation going on at the St. Anne.” James said, “Let’s get in on that! There’ll be so many of us, we’ll just blend into the background!” James spread his hands out in front of him to accentuate his words.

“Yeah, the twerp is Boss’ grandson, right?” Meowth asked. “It’s not like he’s gonna be stupid enough to go on the St. Anne!”

* * *

“Hey, there’s the St. Anne!” Ash said, pointing.

“Where are those girls who gave us free tickets last time?” Misty asked.

Brock looked around, “Can’t see them.” He said, sounding slightly disappointed.

“Well, it’s ok.” Ash said, “I have money, remember?”

“I did, but I kind-of thought you wouldn’t.” Gary said, smirking.

“Ha ha.” Ash rolled his eyes. “Let’s get tickets.”

* * *

As it turned out, tickets were being given out at an extreme discount, but only to trainers.

“There’s something fishy about this.” Brock said, hand on his chin. “But for the life of me I can’t remember what.”

“The ship sank.” Pikachu said, “I think Team Rocket caused it.”

“Oh yeah, I heard about that!” Gary reminisced, “Weren’t there something like 5 human casualties?”

“Now I remember!” Ash said, “Yeah, that was us!”

Gary stared at them. “Ok then.” He said. “Suddenly I’ve lost my sea legs.”

“No, come on.” Misty said, “You have Wartortle, I have Gyarados - what’s the worst that could happen?”

* * *

“Oh, there are Pokemon battles on here. Cool.” Gary said, “That Raticate looks strong, do you want to fight that trainer, Ash, or should I give it a try?”

“Uh.” Ash said, then shook his head after looking the guy over. “Nah, that guy was too eager to trade his Raticate.”

Gary blinked, “To anyone?”

“It’s a well-trained Raticate.” Ash said, “And he offered to trade for Butterfree - but all he saw was that Butterfree was strong. He didn’t know what kind of trainer I was.”

“Mm. Don’t like that.” Gary said, then shook his head. “Well, let’s go for a swim then.”

* * *

“Wait.” Jessie started, “We're getting paid for this job? Actual money?”

“Yeah?” Butch asked in confusion. “Yeah, we all get paid.”

“You don’t understand!” James wailed dramatically, “We never get paid!”

“What are you talking about?” Cassidy asked, “Of course you get paid!”

“But I’ve been in Team Rocket for years and I’ve never seen a cent!” James said.

Butch's eyes widened, “What, never?” He asked, “Even grunts get paid, everyone gets paid in a criminal organization. Why else would people join?"

“Oh, I was never a grunt.” James said, shaking his head. “When I joined up they had me fight this man, Proton? He beat me with his last Pokemon and then they assigned me to work with Jessie.”

“You were never a grunt?” Cassidy asked. “Everyone starts as a grunt! And wait, you single-handedly battled Proton down to only one Pokemon!?”

"Yes, with Weezing." James nodded. "Alas, if only I'd thought to bring another Pokemon."

“I wasn’t a grunt, either.” Jessie said. “Is it really that odd, Chastity?”

Cassidy twitched. “It’s Cassidy. And yeah, that’s weird.”

“I was a thief, Ekans and I were robbing a jewelry store when a group of Team Rocket trainers came in… to rob the same store!” Jessie laughed, “Ariana offered me a job then and there. I took it!”

Butch shook his head, “That’s crazy! I was a grunt for 5 years after I got out of the academy!”

“Academy? There’s an academy?” Jessie asked. 

James sighed dramatically, “Well, we’re barely above grunts.” He said, “Let’s face it! We can do whatever we want, but we don’t really get paid! We pull our own heists and call our own shots, but we still have to report to the Boss after every job we pull!”

“Wait.” Butch said, “You report to the Boss. Directly to the Boss?”

“Yeah.” Meowth nodded. “Sucks, don’t it?”

“And you call all your own shots? You can do whatever you want to do?” Cassidy asked.

“Yes. What’s your point?” Jessie asked.

“You…” Cassidy paused, looking for the right words, “You’re higher up the food chain than us!”

“What?” James asked. “You’re putting me on!”

“Are you sure you don’t get paid?” Butch asked. “Nothing?”

“Well we turn in whatever we get from our heists.” Jessie said. “Pokemon, Pokeballs, cash. And we never get any kind of payment!”

“Wait!” Cassidy exclaimed, “You choose what you do, right?”

James nodded.

“And you take the Pokemon you want to take, you roll who you want to roll, you burgle who you want to burgle.” Cassidy continued, “You’re trusted enough to be basically autonomous. And you don’t take your cut directly?”

Jessie and James gaped at her. “What?” Jessie asked.

“We take some direction from Admins and Execs.” Butch said, “But even then we take some off the top! It’s expected! That’s why there are membership dues, it’s to make sure we don’t take it all for ourselves! If you guys are giving everything you steal to the Team it’s no wonder you report directly to the Boss! Boss probably thinks you steal double what you give!”

“So you’re telling me this whole time that we didn’t have to live off my trust fund?” James asked.

“Trust fund!?” Cassidy's eyes were as wide as a Snorlax. “You have a-”

“Don’t worry about it, Crystal.” James said.

“It’s-”

“This changes everything!” Jessie said.

“Yeah!” Meowth said, “Now we need to steal even more stuff!”

“What-” Butch started.

“Right!” Jessie agreed. “We can’t suddenly give less to the Boss, so we steal as much as we normally do, then we steal even more for ourselves!”

“Sounds like a plan!” James nodded. “And we start here!”

“Actually.” Cassidy cut in. “This operation was set-up by HQ, that’s why we’re getting paid. Everything we get from this goes directly to the Team, and every member who participates gets a fixed stipend.”

“We were ordered here to supervise the grunts!” Butch said, “And you guys can just do whatever you want. You’re free agents, and you chose to do grunt-watching!”

“Wait, that’s why the Boss said we’re in charge when we asked to get in on this!” James realized, “We really outrank you!”

“You guys never do group work, you’re always solo.” Cassidy said, “That’s why we thought - we thought we were equals and you just do better on your own instead of in a group, but you guys get full autonomy! You’re like… baby admins!”

“So what youse guys are sayin’” Meowth began “is that if we got in on more full Team operations like this, we’d be in charge a’them?”

“Unless someone higher-ranked was there, probably!” Butch said.

“So why are you being so informal with us, _ Birch _ ?” James asked, a smug smile growing on his face. “If we’re your _ superiors _?”

Butch gritted his teeth, “Sorry,_ sir _.”

* * *

“Young man!” A shady-looking vendor called, “Could I interest you in a Magikarp?”

“No.” Gary said.

“But young sir, this is a great opportunity-”

“No.” Gary said again, then walked away.

* * *

“Ash, can we get some ketchup and fries?” Pikachu asked.

Ash chuckled, “Well, I guess ketchup literally can’t do you any harm, so why not.”

“I say, that’s a remarkable Pikachu you have there!”

Ash turned around, “Gee, thanks!” he said, and came face-to-face with the tophat-wearing Trainer with whom he’d traded last time.

“Would you be willing to do a trade?” The trainer said. “I have quite a few Pokemon I’d be willing to offer.”

“Uh, no thanks.” Ash said.

“Yeah, I’m happy where I am.” Pikachu added.

The man looked surprised, “Well, alright.” He said. “I don’t usually get turned down, but I won’t push. If you change your mind, I’m not exactly hard to spot in a crowd!” With that parting crack at his own appearance, he left.

“Well, I guess he wasn’t that bad of a guy.” Ash said, chuckling. “Just…”

“Trade-happy?” Pikachu supplied.

Ash nodded. “Yeah. So, you want massive amounts of ketchup?”

Pikachu licked his weird rodent lips, “Yes please!”

“I wonder, is it just ketchup?” Ash asked, “Because the main reason you couldn’t gorge yourself on ketchup was the salt content.”

“I don’t want to eat an entire shaker of salt, so who knows. Let’s get ketchup!”

Ash laughed, “Ok, ok! And I thought _ I _was a stomach with feet!”

* * *

“I think it was a good decision to split up.” Brock said. “I got Geodude a nice hat.”

“I got a long brush to help me clean Gyarados’ scales!” Misty added.

“I got a new pair of shoes because apparently we’re going to be walking a lot.” Gary said.

“Ash and I stocked up on ketchup!” Pikachu finished, licking his paws clean.

“Right.” Ash nodded, “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to kick Team Rocket’s a-”

The doors to the ship’s conference deck-slash-ballroom closed and there was a ripping sound… as a bunch of people in Team Rocket uniforms started stepping out from under tables and ripping table cloths.

“Wait, what?” Gary asked. “How did nobody notice them?”

“It’s Team Rocket, just assume they’re all as weirdly lucky as Jessie, James, and Meowth.” Brock said.

The lights suddenly turned off, so all the passengers on deck naturally turned their heads to look when a spotlight came on.

“To protect the world from devastation!” Jessie stated, hands on her hips and a confident smile on her face. And a weird device on her back.

“To unite all peoples within our nation!” James said just as confidently, with his signature rose and a bizarre backpack identical to Jessie’s.

“To denounce the evils of truth and love.” Jessie continued.

“To extend our reach to the stars above!” James concluded, crossing his arms and smirking.

“Jessie!”

“James!”

“Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!” Jessie cackled.

“Surrender now or prepare to fight!” James announced, laughing.

“Meowth! That’s right!” Meowth said, waving.

“Team Rocket will now take possession of your Pokemon!” Jessie said.

The crowd of varied trainers and Pokemon enthusiasts were quite shocked.

“What, our Pokemon?”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“Mommy, I’m scared!”

Ash noticed that all of the members of Team Rocket were wearing the same devices as Jessie and James were, and something clicked in the back of his mind. “Watch out!” He called, hand going to the belt that held his Pokeballs. He dimly noticed that Brock, Misty, and Gary all secured their Pokemon as well.

Not a moment too soon, as without warning all the members of Team Rocket turned on their suction devices and peoples’ Pokeballs, Pokebelts, normal belts, wallets, and various loose objects and change began flying into them.

Of course, that didn’t get the majority of Pokemon or Pokeballs present, but it made people scared.

A grunt walked up to Ash. “Hand over your Pokemon!” He said.

“No way!” Ash said, “Pikachu, Thunderbolt!”

“Sure!” Pikachu said, then shocked the grunt so hard he fainted. However, despite the grunt's lack of ability to fight it off, nobody threw a Pokeball at him.

“Hey!” Ash shouted, picking Pikachu up and waving him in the air. “Riot!”

“He’s right!”

“Yeah, we can’t let them just take our Pokemon!”

“We can’t just surrender!”

“Let’s fight back!”

And with that, a full-scale Pokemon battle began on the St. Anne.

“Did anyone see the kid what started it?” Meowth asked, “We was gonna get away scott free!”

“I have a sinking feeling that I know who it was.” James said wearily, “And we can’t do anything about it.”

“Is he even on our side?” Jessie asked, harrumphing. “He’s supposed to be the Boss’ grandson, why is he interfering?”

Meowth rubbed his chin. “Maybe it’s a con.” He said, “Boss always disguises his voice over calls and obscures his face. He’s got a secret identity, right? Twerp’s a good trainer, and unlike some'a the grunts we know boss’ real identity.”

“So what, the twerp gets a reputation for hating Team Rocket so that when he’s older nobody suspects he’s the leader?” Jessie asked rhetorically, “Well… it does sound like a plan Boss would come up with.”

“The St. Anne job was planned months in advance.” James said, “So he_ had _ to know about the St. Anne job!”

“Right!” Jessie said, “So if he’s supposed to hate Team Rocket…”

“No mercy!” Meowth finished.

“Right! And if we don’t go after his group for real, he shouldn’t stop us from getting away with our loot! Go, Ekans!”

“Go, Koffing!” James called, “Distract the twerps with the talking Pikachu!”

“Koffing!”

“Ekans!”

“I’ll go get Butch and Cassidy to round up the grunts!” James said.

“And we’ll deal wit’ Boss Junior!” Meowth said, smiling. “I love it when a plan comes together!”

* * *

“I should’a known you guys were behind this.” Gary said, rolling his eyes. “Wartortle, Water Gun!”

“Tort!” Wartortle called, then shot a concentrated stream of water straight into Ekans.

“Kans!” Ekans yelped, then slithered off to poison Onix.

“You have to admit, they’re putting up a good fight.” Brock said, ready to return his starter in-case said Onix forgot that he wasn't a Steel-type anymore.

“Gyarados, Dragon Rage!” Misty called.

“DOS!” Gyarados screamed, blasting a Weezing. Not James’, because James’ Koffing hadn’t evolved yet, a different Team Rocket Weezing.

“I think it’s partly because they’re getting help from other members of Team Rocket.” Ash said, “Since the group we fight only has a couple Pokemon at a time. Pidgeotto, Wing Attack!”

“Pidgeotto!” Pidgeotto screamed, buzzing Meowth.

“Hey, get off!” Meowth complained, using Scratch liberally. “You twerps never leave us alone, do ya?” He shouted, getting the attention of some nearby trainers. “You never leave Team Rocket alone!”

“Yeah!” Jessie added, “You’re always interfering with our business!”

“Your business is stealing Pokemon!” Ash yelled. “Of course we’ll interfere!”

Jessie nodded to Ash and mouthed something. Ash thought she was saying ‘nice one’, but it didn’t really make sense so he ignored it and focused on the battle.

Meowth ran up behind Pikachu and Tackled him. As they rolled, he whispered into Pikachu’s ear “Your trainer’s a natural!”

Then Jessie’s Sandshrew walked up to the two talking Pokemon and used Fury Swipes to separate them. “Slash!” She called, and engaged Pikachu.

“‘Focus on me’, what?” Pikachu asked. “Whatever!” He decided, powering up his Iron Tail.

“That’s the ticket!” Meowth said, then he raised his voice “This twerp’s Pokemon are so strong it takes two of us to deal wit’ 'em!”

“Right!” Jessie said, even louder and more flamboyantly than usual. “Our job here isn’t to fight, it’s to steal Pokemon!”

James came running from somewhere else on the ship, “Go Graveller!” He called, panting. As he got closer to Jessie, he nodded to her. “Butch and Cassidy are rounding up the grunts.”

Jessie thought for a moment then nodded. “Cassidy? You mean Constanza?”

James threw his head back and laughed. “Naturally!”

* * *

“You know.” Misty began, “Our fights with Team Rocket don’t usually last this long.”

“They’ve never had Ground-types before, to be fair.” Brock judiciously pointed out.

Misty laughed, “Yeah! I guess they got brain damage last time, from all the Lightning Bolts they took!”

Ash looked around the ship and saw that most of the battles were either winding down or ending. “Guys, I feel like something weird’s going on.” He said.

And then the ship was wracked by massive waves.

Brock looked up, “It looks like a storm!” He said, “A bad one!”

“How did nobody notice this?” Gary asked, “Shouldn’t Coast Guard Jenny have ridden up on a Sharpedo and ordered us to sail to port hours ago?”

“The plot always comes crashing in, there’s nothing we can do about it.” Ash said resignedly.

And, despite being a large storm easily capable of sinking a cruise ship, nobody seemed to have been expecting it. Not even Team Rocket, as all the grunts began stumbling around in confusion. But not panic, oddly enough.

“Well, that’s fortuitous!” James said. “Graveller, Koffing, Return!”

“Ekans, Sandshrew, Return!” Jessie called. “Meowth, get over here!”

“Right!” Meowth said.

Jessie and James both stepped back. “We showed you trouble!” Jessie called.

“And you payed us back double!” James added.

“But now it looks like you need to be saved from devastation!” Jessie cackled, gesturing at the storm around us.

“Normally we’d unite all people within our nation and help, but you’re up Muk creek without a paddle!” James said, waving. “Toodloo!”

At that, a submarine with the Team Rocket logo on it popped up and all the grunts started piling into it.

“Wait, I recognize two of those people!” Misty said pointing. “It’s… Carly and Bull?”

“Candy and Bill!” Brock said, nodding. “Yeah, I remember them.”

“Buck and Castille!” Ash said, “The ones with the… they had… a fighting type? Yeah!”

“I don’t recognize them, but I’m new here.” Gary said. “Are we gonna fight them?”

“Well, there’s a bad storm brewing, and there are hundreds of people on this ship, so discretion is probably the better part of valor.” Brock said sagely.

“You’re right.” Ash agreed, sighing.

* * *

“So let me get this straight.” Officer Jenny of the Kanto regional Coast Guard said. “Team Rocket attacked your ship, but you didn’t know anything about it.”

“No, nothing!” The captain said.

“And the ship just happened to run into a storm that wasn’t predicted by any weather service.” Officer Jenny continued.

“A freak weather occurrence, to be sure!”

“And your response was to tell everyone to stay calm while trying to escape on your own in a lifeboat.” Officer Jenny finished.

“Yes!”

“Right.” Officer Jenny shook her head and turned to the quartet of young trainers. “If it wasn’t for your quick thinking, a lot of people could have died, and a lot more property and Pokemon could have been lost to Team Rocket. So thank you!” She said, smiling.

“Aw, shucks.” Pikachu said, although he didn't blush. Or if he did, his cheeks were so red that it wasn't evident.

“All part of a day’s work!” Ash faux-boasted, puffing his chest out.

“You have beautiful eyes.” Brock said to nobody but Officer Jenny’s surprise.

“Uh, can you drop us off at a port town?” Gary asked, “Since we’re kind-of floating in the open sea in the middle of a storm?”

“Oh, right!” Officer Jenny said, nodding. “Yeah, that’s the least we can do! Thanks to you, nobody was on the St. Anne as it sunk to the bottom of the ocean, and there wasn’t a touching scene where survivors had to team up with their nemeses to survive long enough to make it to shore! Where do you want to go, I think the closest port is an amusement park?

Ash cocked his head, “Pokemon Land?”

Officer Jenny nodded, “Yep, that’s the one!”

Ash grinned, “My grandfather owns it, that sounds like a great place to drop us off at!”

“Great!” Officer Jenny said. Then she turned and started yelling at the captain of the St. Anne.

Brock sighed, “Isn’t she dreamy?”

* * *

“So.” Giovanni said, fingers steepled in front of his face. “You say Team Rocket attacked the St. Anne?”

Ash nodded, “Yeah, I think the trio that’s been following me around was leading them.”

“Oh?” Giovanni asked, raising an eyebrow. “The trio that’s been following you?”

“Yeah, Jessie and James.” Pikachu said, “And Meowth.”

“Interesting.” Giovanni said, nodding.

“They attacked us directly.” Ash said, “I think they were keeping us busy, I guess because they know we’re strong trainers. But even though we chased them off, Team Rocket got away with a lot of Pokemon.” Ash said glumly.

“But not as much as they would have if we hadn’t stepped in!” Pikachu added quickly.

Giovanni nodded. “Pikachu is right.” He said. “How many Team Rocket members did you fight?”

“Well, Meowth, Jessie and James, but James was only there for the second half of the fight.” Ash said, thinking. “And then there were some… uh, generic members. Jessie ordered them to battle us, which is why I think she, Meowth, and James were in charge.”

“I see.” Giovanni said. “And under the stewardship of these three, Team Rocket got away relatively unscathed along with a portion of the loot they had planned to steal?”

“Yeah.” Ash said.

“Impressive.” Giovanni noted. “That is to say, impressive that you managed to salvage the situation. You are, after-all, 10 years old, and have even been on your journey for a month.”

“But-” Ash began.

“Ash, there were many trainers on the St. Anne, and most of them have probably been trainers for years.” Giovanni continued, “And yet from what I have heard, your group was instrumental in defeating Team Rocket and rescuing the passengers of the St. Anne, and you were clearly in charge of the rescue operations. That is very impressive.”

“...Thank you, grandfather.” Ash said.

“You and your friends have free run of Pokemon Land.” Giovanni said, “No other visitors for the day. Consider it a reward, or an early birthday present.”

“Right.” Ash said, nodding. “Thank you, Grandfather.”

“No Ash, thank you.” Giovanni said, and signed off.

* * *

“Well.” Giovanni said, stroking Persian. “This is an interesting development.”

“Purrr.” Persian purred.

* * *

“Hello, I’d like to put this call through collect, please.” Jessie said into the payphone.

“What?” James asked, “Who’d accept the charges?”

“Hello, boss?” Jessie asked sweetly.

“The boss!?” James yelped.

“Jessie!” Giovanni said through the phone, “What are you doing calling me collect?”

“Uh, well, funny story.” Jessie began, “We sent the submarine full of grunts back to base under the command of Bob and Casey and decided to continue on our own.”

“Right.” The Boss said, “I understand that. But why are you calling me collect?”

“Well, to put it bluntly… we don’t have enough change for the phone, and we’re lost.” Jessie said.

James cut in, “And we’re on an island full of giant Pokemon!”

The Boss was silent for a moment. “I see.” He said slowly. “You’re in an amusement park.”

“What?” James asked.

Meowth grabbed the phone. “Hi Boss, Meowth here. Uh, amusement park you say? How do ya know?”

“I own it.”

Meowth blinked. “Oh.” He handed the phone to James.

“Uh… Boss… we’re sorry for bothering you with this, really, but-”

Jessie grabbed the phone from James. “-but could you give us directions to an information kiosk? Or a food stall?” She asked. “Please?”

“You did very well in managing the operation aboard the St. Anne.” Giovanni said, “So I’ll give you this piece of advice: the mechanical Pokemon won’t hurt you. You’re probably out of the main area, so they’re trying to pick you up and move you.”

“...right.” Jessie said. “Thanks, Boss!” She waited a moment and put the phone down. “He hung up.” She said.

“Oh, how about that Slowpoke we caught?” James asked. “Did you tell the Boss about that?”

“No, we’re selling the Slowpoke.” Jessie said. “And keeping the money for ourselves.”

“Oh, right.” James nodded. “I almost forgot about that.”

* * *

“Well.” Giovanni said, stroking Persian. “They’re idiots.”

“Purrr?” Persian asked. “Perrrrsian.”

“Yes, I said idiots.” Giovanni confirmed, “Still, we know they’re competent in a fight, and now they’ve proven that they can lead. Not to mention the fact that this particular cell has always shown initiative.”

“Perrrrsian?”

“I can hardly penalize them for going after a seemingly-ordinary trainer.” Giovanni said, “In fact, they picked the strongest trainer aboard the St. Anne and kept him busy. Yes, they’ll prove useful.” Giovanni took a sip of coffee and hummed speculatively. “It’s a shame that neither Jessie nor James went to Team Rocket Academy, otherwise I’m sure Viper would have beaten the stupid out of them.”

“Persian.” Persian said doubtfully.

* * *

Ash woke up with a yawn, and made it out of his bedroom into the communal living space that was included in their Trainers’ Deluxe Suite. He sat down on the couch next to Misty, who was watching a beauty contest.

“I had a dream that I entered a beauty contest.” Misty said, “That one, in fact!”

“Oh yeah?” Ash asked. “Me too, actually.”

They heard a noise, and both looked up to see Gary coming out of his room. “I had the strangest dream that I crashed a beauty contest with my ‘cheerleaders’.” He said.

“That’s funny” Ash said slowly, “that was in my dream, too.”

“See, in my dream I lost the beauty contest.” Misty said, “I lost to James from Team Rocket wearing giant fake breasts!”

Ash looked at Misty in shock, “Did we all have the same dream?”

“Maybe there’s something in the water.” Pikachu said, indirectly confirming that he'd had the dream too.

Brock stumbled out of his room and tripped onto a sofa. “I’m in love!” He announced. “A vision of beauty assailed me in my dreams!”

“Oh yeah?” Gary asked, “Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny?”

“A beautiful woman, a goddess with short blue hair!” Brock said, “She won a beauty contest!”

Ash and Misty shared a wild glance, and immediately looked away from each-other to try and hold back their laughter.

“So, new hypothesis: Darkrai visited us last night.” Gary said.

“Either that, or there really is something in the water…” Misty concluded, shaking her head.

* * *

“Ah, Mr. Ketchum?” One of the hotel staff asked, walking up to their table. “A phone call for you, from your grandfather.”

“Right!” Ash said, standing up. “I’ll be back in a minute, guys!”

He followed the man to the pictophone. “Grandfather?” Ash asked.

“Ash.” Giovanni said. “Would you be willing to do a task for me?”

Ash blinked and smiled. “Yeah, sure!”

“Excellent.” Giovanni said. “There is an island not too far from the park, with a vacation town called Hutber Port. There is a woman there, Nastina, who is attempting to build a massive resort.”

“Ok!” Ash nodded, “What do you want us to do?”

“I want you to go there and scout it out.” Giovanni said, “Nastina’s methods are… shall we say, suspect, and if there is anything suspicious going on I ask that you inform me of it.”

“That’s all?” Ash asked, “Yeah, we can do that!”

“Excellent.” Giovanni said. “And, of course, if you do find anything suspicious, I will report it to the proper authorities.”

“Right!” Ash nodded, “I need to finish breakfast now, we’ll head there later. Love you, grandfather!”

“I love you as well, Ash.” Giovanni said, then hung up.

* * *

Misty patted the injured Horsea on the head. “Oh, you poor thing!” She said, “I remember this place now!”

“Yeah, this was where the construction project was disturbing the local Tentacool.” Brock said, nodding.

“Well, that’s done.” Gary commented. “We'll tell Ash’s grandpa that Nastina’s building project is bugging the locals-”

“Save those sailors.” Ash said, pointing.

“Yeah, save those sailors, then we call Ash’s grandpa.” Gary said, then looked where Ash was pointing, at a sinking ship. “Wait- oh. Right. Go, Wartortle!”

Misty threw a Pokeball. “Go, Gyarados!”

“Pidgeotto, Squirtle, come lend a hand!” Ash called.

“Go, Onix!” Brock shouted.

Ash, Gary, and Misty all looked at Brock.

Brock shrugged. “What?”

* * *

“Excellent.” Giovanni said, “And it took you only a few hours to discover this?”

“Well, when our ship came into port we saw a work ship being attacked by Tentacool.” Ash said, “So it sorta fell into our laps!”

“Be that as it may,” Giovanni said, “You completed my request in record time. You have my gratitude.”

“Aw, grandfather-” Ash began.

“And a yacht.” Giovanni finished.

“Wait-” Misty began.

“I’d heard that you were travelling with another Gym Leader.” Giovanni continued, “Brock of Pewter.”

Brock nodded, “Giovanni of Viridian. Nice to meet you.”

Giovanni nodded, “The pleasure is all mine. I have heard nothing but good things about you, and it pleases me that my grandson has such accomplished friends.”

“Totally.” Brock replied.

“Well, Ash, your yacht will be arriving in a few hours. Until then, enjoy yourself.” With that, Giovanni hung up.

“Well.” Gary said. “We’re travelling in style, huh?”

“A yacht!” Misty said, “I know your grandpa's Giovanni Rocketto, Ash, but really?”

Ash shrugged, “Grandfather does like giving gifts.”

* * *

After a day of wanton tourism, Ash, Brock, Misty, Gary, Pikachu, Misty’s new Horsea, and all of Ash’s on-hand Pokemon (Pidgeotto, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charmander, and Butterfree) were exhausted.

“Do you always have your Pokemon out when you go sight-seeing?” Gary asked as they made their way to where Ash’s yacht was supposed to be moored.

Ash shrugged, “Sometimes. It helps us bond, there’s no law against it, and they enjoy it.”

“Yeah, makes sense.” Gary nodded.

“Is that the yacht?” Misty asked, pointing.

The boat she was pointing two had two attendants in front of it holding a sign saying ‘Mr. Ketchum’.

“No, they’re waiting for the other Mr. Ketchum.” Gary said, rolling his eyes.

“Well, excuse me!”

“Uh, Ash?” Brock asked. “You said your grandpa isn’t afraid of throwing money around, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know his opinion on bribes?” Brock asked delicately.

Ash shrugged, “I think he considers them necessary? Mom doesn’t, she’s always saying that grandpa’s been trying to bribe her for years.” Ash scratched his head. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh.” Brock said as they bordered the _ S.S. Don’t Tell Delia _“No reason.”

* * *

“Maiden’s Peak!” Misty said as they disembarked from Ash’s yacht, “Isn’t there about to be a festival here?”

“If you’re here for that then you’re a few weeks early.” An old man said, walking up to them.

“I guess we’re still ahead of schedule.” Ash said, scratching his head.

“With my car and your boat, you bet we are.” Gary said, nodding. “We could even stop by Cinnabar and get our Volcano badges early.”

Ash considered Gary’s suggestion. “Nah.” He said.

Gary shrugged. “Well, I’m not too invested in the order I originally did - uh - planned to do them in.”

The old man coughed. “Our town is still a great place for sight-seeing and tourism.” He said, “We have a rich history and beautiful monuments.”

Brock stepped forward eagerly, “And beaches, right?” He asked.

The old man nodded proudly, stroking his beard. “Yes, we pride ourselves on our pristine beaches!” He said.

Brock turned to Ash and Gary. “I want to stay here for a few days.”

“We _have_ been speeding through Kanto.” Misty added, “I wouldn’t mind a few days of rest!”

“What do you call our day at the Amusement Park?” Pikachu asked. The old man jumped a little in surprise.

“We also spent a day in Porta Vista.” Ash added, “And all we did then was sight-see.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t see all the sights I wanted to.” Brock said, “We didn’t even go to a beauty contest!”

Gary sighed and rolled his eyes. “Ok, Romeo.” He said, “We get it. If we stay in the same place for a few days, we’ll be able to train up our Pokemon, right?” He asked.

Ash sighed, “Fine.” He said. “But I kind-of wanted to catch more Pokemon.”

“You never know!” The old man said, walking away. “Maiden’s Peak may pique your interest yet, young man!”

* * *

“So let me get this straight.” Pikachu started. “We remember that there was a Gastly causing trouble last time, right?”

“I think he was just having fun, but yeah.” Ash said, nodding.

“And he made Brock and James crazy for a while.” Pikachu continued.

“James? Team Rocket James?” Gary asked, “What, do they attack you every day or something?”

“They used to.” Misty said, “I’m worried about them, actually.”

Gary blinked and shook his head. “Ok. Right, so what’s your point, Pikachu?”

“Well,” Pikachu said, “it’s a few weeks until the festival, right? But Brock’s still acting weird.”

“Weirder than normal?” Gary asked.

All four turned to observe Brock, who was staggering around mumbling about a beautiful woman.

“Well, no.” Pikachu admitted.

* * *

“You caught: Gastly, the Gas Pokemon. With it's gaseous body, it can sneak into any place it desires. However, a stiff wind can blow it away.” Ash’s Pokedex said.

“Well, that’s one way to deal with a mischievous ghost-type.” Misty said.

“Yeah, I guess you were right about Brock.” Gary said, nodding to Pikachu.

Pikachu shrugged. “So Ash caught the Maiden’s Peak Gastly, Gary caught Bill’s Dragonite, what’s next?” He asked, “Is Brock going to catch that giant Alakazam?”

“Yes.” Brock said, having fully recovered from Gastly’s ghostly pranks

Pikachu, Misty, Gary, Ash, and Ash’s new Gastly all looked at Brock.

“What?” Brock asked, “You brought it up.”

“I believe I know the Alakazam of which you speak.” Gastly said, “And I do not believe it is possible to capture it in a Pokeball.”

“Wait, you know the Alakazam from Pokemopolis?” Pikachu asked.

“Ah, indeed I do. And the Gengar.” Gastly said, “Magnificent creatures. And that Jigglypuff as well.”

“That means you’re pretty old.” Gary posited.

“Oh, quite.” Gastly agreed. “Not nearly as old as Pokemopolis, however; I’m merely well-travelled and fond of my fellow ghosts. Gengar gets rather lonely, so I try to visit him every century or so.”

“Do you… mind being caught?” Ash asked. “If you want to be free, I’ll let you go.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” Gastly said. “You’re interesting and you’re travelling. If you decided to become sedentary I’d ask to leave, but until then I see no reason not to go along with you.”

“Well, that’s good!” Ash said, “Glad to have you.”

“And glad to stop you from harassing random people.” Misty added.

“It’s a living!” Gastly chortled.

* * *

“Goodbye, Butterfree!” Ash said tearfully. “I’ll miss you, buddy!”

“Free!” Butterfree said soulfully, “Free! Free!” And he flew off with his mate.

Gary patted Ash on the back. “You okay?”

Ash nodded. “Yeah.” He said, sniffling. “Butterfree’s happy, so I’m happy!”

Gary nodded awkwardly. “Sounds good.”

* * *

“Ok.” Gary began, “So Sabrina was one of the last Gyms I went to, and I had three Pokemon with type-advantage. Right now, no Dark-types or Ghost-types, and she’s apparently insane.”

“You have a Bug-type though.” Ash said.

“Yeah, but with what you said Surge said? Plus the doll thing? I want extra protection.” Gary said.

“Well, there is a tower of ghosts not far from here.” Pikachu commented. “Ash already has Gastly, but there’s a Haunter there that Ash got to travel with him for a little while.”

“Wait, are you talking about-” Misty began, but was silenced by Ash.

“Gary if you want to go get a Ghost-type, we’ll be happy to escort you to Pokemon Tower!” Ash said, grinning.

“In Lavender Town.” Pikachu added.

Gary looked at Ash, then at Pikachu. "What happened there?”

“I died.” Ash said.

Gary nodded, “And then what, Mew came and breathed life back into you?”

“Wait.” Misty cut in. “You were actually dead!?”

“We thought he was dead until he walked up to us.” Brock pointed out, “So really, he was alive until he can prove he wasn’t.”

Misty looked confused, “But-”

“Misty.” Brock said, “Accept it.”

“...Ok.” Misty said.

“Yeah, on second thought I’ll just get another Bug-type.” Gary decided.

“No, it was fun!” Ash said, “And a learning experience!”

Gary side-eyed Ash and Pikachu both. “Riiiiight.”.

* * *

“So is this a hazing ritual, or what?” Gary asked as they crested a hill and spied the ominous Pokemon Tower.

“We’re right behind you!” Ash said. “Don’t worry about it!”

Screams came from the Tower.

Gary looked wary. “What.”

Ash snickered, “No, go on!”

“Is this some kind of haunted house thing?” Gary asked. “When I come out am I gonna get charged for the privilege of being terrified?”

“Oh, no, there are real Ghost-types in there that steal your soul and have fun with it.” Ash said, “But when they’re done they put your soul back in your body, so it’s all good!”

Gastly came out of his Pokeball. “Oh yes, these Ghosts are quite harmless.”

“Somehow that doesn’t reassure me.” Gary said. “No, really I’ll just use a Bug-type.”

They heard another scream from the Tower.

“Really.” Gary said again.

Then the Tower’s door burst open, and a Haunter, a Gastly, and a Gengar all piled out, screaming.

“Ok.” Gary said.

They were being chased by what looked like a gigantic teapot.

“Right.” Gary nodded. “I think I’ve seen enough.”

The teapot was being chased by an even bigger man.

“Is that… Mr. Hagrid?” Misty asked.

“Who?” Brock asked.

“Big guy we met in Viridian city, he’s from Galar and he loves Pokemon.” Misty said.

Hagrid noticed them. “Oh, ‘ello!” He said, marching up to them, beaming. “Fancy meetin’ you lot here!”

“Hi Rubeus!” Ash said, walking up.

“Yeah, hi!” Pikachu added.

“Salutations.” Gastly said.

Rubeus’ eyebrow twitched when he saw Gastly and his mustache bristled when Gastly talked.

“Another one? Tha’s four Pokemon I’ve met now what can talk!” Hagrid said, grinning.

“Oh, actually, that is odd.” Misty said, “I was so used to Pikachu being able to talk that I didn’t realize.”

“Ghost Pokemon.” Gary said, shrugging. “It depends on their origin, but some can learn how to talk.”

“And some of us have always known.” Gastly supplied. “Mr. Hagrid, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m a huge fan of your work.” Gastly bowed, though since he was a ghost it was more like a fancy bob.

“...really?” Hagrid asked.

“Oh yes, Rayquaza has nothing but good things to say about you.”

Hagrid beamed.

Misty, Brock, and Gary all exchanged a silent ‘Rayquaza?’

“So Rubeus!” Ash said, “What brings you here?”

“Well, I wanted to see tha native Ghost-types, didn’ I?” Hagrid said, nodding. “These fellas - I know they weren' tryin’ ta hurt me none, they jus' wanted t' have some fun, so I took out Myrtle here!” He patted his massive teapot, “An' we 'ad a blast, didn' we, girl?”

“That sounds great.” Ash said, smiling, and walked up to Myrtle. “What kind of Pokemon is Myrtle?”

“Polteageist o’course!” Hagrid said. “Lots o’ Pokemon from Galar are related ta food. I guess Arceus were 'ungry when ‘e designed it.”

There was a pause, as-if waiting for an answer.

“That sounds pretty nice!” Misty said to break the silence.

“Oh, yeah, I suppose ‘tis.” Hagrid nodded, “Still, nice ta be out and about so’s I can see other Pokemon, righ' Myrtle?”

“Tea!” Myrtle said.

“So Polteageists possess teapots?” Brock asked. “And they make them grow really big?”

“Oh, if they can get one they possess one!” Hagrid said, “They say there are two types of Polteageist and their pre-evolution Sinistea, tha ones who get good old teapots, and tha ones who have ta settle wi’ newer ones, but tha’s not true!” He patted Myrtle. “We found Myrtle 'ere possessin’ a toilet!”

“A toilet!?” Misty asked, horrified.

“Yeah, but we re-'omed 'er no problem!” Hagrid said. “Af’r young 'arry tol’ me about 'er I talked ta Arthur Weasley. He collects novelty china, see, and ‘e was happy t’be of help, so we got ‘er into this big ol’ teapot an’ she was right as rain, weren’ ye?”

“Pol!” She said, “Pol tea pol!”

Hagrid beamed, “She’s a real beaut, too, don’ you think?”

“Oh, definitely!” Ash said, patting Myrtle’s spout.

“Oh, I’m Hagrid by tha way.” Hagrid said, turning to Brock. “Rubeus Hagrid, at yer service.”

“Brock Slate, at yours.” Brock said, nodding. “How do you like Kanto so far, Mr. Hagrid?”

“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Hagrid said. “And tha Pokemon are great - Didja know I saw this lovely dragon, and it weren’t even a Dragon-type?”

“Charizard?” Ash asked.

“Tha’s the one. Lovely.” Hagrid said, “Norberta loved fightin’ ‘im, tha’s for sure.”

“Norberta?” Gary asked.

“Oh, sure, she’s me Turtonator.” Hagrid said.

Gastly bobbed closer. “Ah, is she the one you fought Diantha with?”

“Yeah, that was a good fight, that was.” Hagrid nodded. “Norberta, Fang, ev’n me dear departed Aragog, an’ it weren’ enough ta beat ‘er! Tha’s a mighty trainer right there!” He chuckled.

“Huh.” Gary said. “That’s something.”

“Sure is!” Hagrid agreed.

“You’ve been around the world and seen many things,” Gastly began, “and yet we’ve never crossed paths. I’m glad that that’s changed.”

“Yer a won’erful li’l guy, ain’t ya?” Hagrid said, beaming at Gastly.

“Huh.” Pikachu said.

* * *

“So, ye both got 3 badges already?” Hagrid asked. “Tha’s pretty good, innit?”

“Yeah!” Ash said, nodding.

“I got 2 meself, but I’ve been busy, y’see.” Hagrid said, “Caught a Jangmo’o in Alola and been trainin’ ‘im up for tha League.”

“So are you a Dragon-type trainer, or do you just really like them?” Misty asked.

“Oh, tha latter.” Hagrid said. “I love Dragons, but I couldn’t limit meself ta jus' them! I alrea’y have ta limit meself ta jus' 6 at a time. Have 9 in total now, shame I can’ have more, but I don’ stay in one place anymore.”

“Yeah.” Ash said, nodding. “I can keep my Pokemon at Professor Oak’s Ranch, so I can catch a lot, but I’m trying not to go overboard.”

“Same.” Gary said.

“Tha’s a good attitude ta have.” Hagrid said approvingly. “So yer both headed ta tha Psychic-type Gym Leader next?”

“Yeah!” Ash said, nodding.

“Got yer Ghost-type and yer strategies?”

“Well, Gary wants to go with Bug-types, but yeah!”

“Tha’s good. I got me second badge from ‘er, she was odd, that one.” Hagrid paused for a moment. “Righ’ odd. But Myrtle beat ‘er Kadabra.” Hagrid stretched. “Any recommendation on who ta challenge next?”

“Well, my dad just took over the Pewter Gym.” Brock said, “He could use a strong challenger to get him back in shape.”

“Righ’, good ta know! I’ll make my way there.” Hagrid said, nodding. “Well, I should be movin’ along. Good luck to ye’!”

“And to you!” Ash called.

“Yeah, good luck!” Gary also called.

“I have to say, I love that guy.” Gastly said.

* * *

“A Ghost and no Team Rocket make this walk almost enjoyable!” Misty said as they walked into Saffron city.

“We’re still walking through a creepy forest to the house of a lady who thinks turning people into dolls is fun.” Gary said.

“Oh, relax, you weren’t even turned into a doll!” Misty scoffed.

“And I want to keep it that way.” Gary added.

“Oh, it’s not that bad.” Gastly said, changing into a doll. “It’s quite fun, actually.”

* * *

Ash knocked on the door of the Saffron Gym. A man wearing a medical mask and a lab coat answered.

“Who knocks at the door of psychic might?” Came a mysterious and fake-sounding accent.

“Where are you from, Transylvania?” Gary asked.

“We’re trainers!” Ash said, “Come to earn the Marsh Badge!”

“Hah, you do not know the first thing of psychic powers!” The masked man said.

“And you don’t know the first thing about personal style.” Gary snarked.

“Bah!” The man’s long white coat flapped dramatically.

Gastly, still in doll form, walked up to the man and tugged on his pant leg. “Boo!”

The man looked down at Gastly, not spooked in the slightest. “A Ghost-type will not stop you from being overvhelmed, but I vill take you to Sabrina if you insist.”

* * *

The man led them into a candle-lit room, went to the side opposite from them, and knelt. “Oh grrreat Sabrrrina!” He called, emphasizing his totally real accent. “A grrrrroup of trrrrainers has come to challenge you!” He chuckled, “Although I don’t know vhy you vould vaste your time on these losers!”

A shadowy figure that was presumably Sabrina gestured, and the man started glowing blue and shrieking. “Aah! Aaah!” He screamed, “Alright! Alright! No lab coats in the battle room, I understand!” He scurried away, leaving his accent behind.

“Ash, you can have the first battle.” Gary said quickly, taking a step back.

Ash walked forward. “Sabrina, I challenge you to an official match for a Marsh badge!”

There was a chuckle, “Sure, I love playing!!” A small shape walked forward.

“Doll?” Gary asked under his breath.

“Doll.” Brock confirmed.

“But if you loo~oose, you have to be my friends and let me play with you!”

“Fine by me!” Ash said, fingers crossed behind his back.

“And I want a double battle!” The doll continued. “You and your friend versus my friends, Kadabra and Kadabra!”

“Wait, two Kadabras?” Gary asked.

“Yes, sometimes I get a lot of people who want to play with me!” The doll giggled, “So I have two Kadabras so they don’t have to wait!"

“Riiight.” Gary said, nodding. “Sure, Scyther and Gastly versus two Kadabras?”

“Sounds good!” Ash said, nodding.

* * *

Ash turned to Gary, “Wait, Gastly is weak to Kadabra-”

“Who’s weak to Gastly, yeah.” Gary nodded.

“I knew I was forgetting something.” Ash said, shaking his head. “Well, it doesn’t matter. A battle’s a battle - let’s fight!”

“Kadabra, Kadabra, enter battle.” Sabrina said.

“Kadabra!” The first Kadabra saluted with a spoon.

“Abra Kadabra!” The second Kadabra made a rude motion at Ash with a spoon.

“Go in, Gastly!” And Gastly obligingly changed back into the average Gastly form and floated onto the field.

“Come out, Scyther!” Scyther materialized on the field and glared at the two Kadabras, Gary's wariness having rubbed off on it.

“Lick!” Ash said.

“If you insist.” Gastly replied, and shot towards the nearest Kadabra, tongue at the ready.

Kadabra Teleported out of the way - and Gastly redirected himself towards the other Kadabra, scoring a Lick.

“Ka!” Kadabra spat, sounding disgusted, before Scyther bore down on him. “Bra!”

“Scyther!” Scyther said.

“Use X-Scissor!” Gary called.

Scyther nodded and bore down on Kadabra, who was suitably grossed out by Gastly’s Lick and freaked out by Scyther’s Bugginess that he just let the attack come.

“This is not as hard as I remember.” Ash said as Gastly chased the other Kadabra, noting that Gastly had morphed himself into a giant tongue.

“Maybe there’s a catch?” Gary asked.

* * *

“Awww, you defeated me!” Sabrina said through the doll, sounding sad. “I don’t really like battling, anyway… You both get Marsh Badges.”

Ash and Gary exchanged a glance. Gary took a deep breath. “We’d love to accept our Marsh Badges.” Gary started.

“But let’s have lunch first!” Ash finished. “Want to come with?”

Sabrina stared at him.

“Maybe you could take your mom out of the giant dollhouse you stuck her in.” Brock suggested. “Just a thought.”

Sabrina stared some more before finally nodding. “That thought hadn’t occurred to me.” She admitted.

“And maybe you want to fire the fake Russian in the surgical mask?” Misty suggested. “He seems like a freak.”

“No.” Sabrina said. “I will free my mother. Take your badges and leave.”

“Ok!” Ash said, smiling.

“And then come back with take out.” Sabrina added.

“Ok.” Gary said, sounding resigned.

* * *

“I usually warn trainers away.” Sabrina’s father admitted as he, Ash, Gary, Brock, Misty, Pikachu, Sabrina, Scyther, Kadabra, Gastly, Kadabra, and Sabrina’s mom decimated 20 pizzas. “But this time I didn’t because I saw you had some kind of trick.” He nodded at Gastly. “And it worked out!”

“Darling.” Sabrina’s mother started, “I was a doll for years. _ Years. _ And all you did was warn trainers off, rather than petitioning the Elite Four to send in Agatha, their resident Ghost specialist? Or getting a Dark-type and rescuing me yourself?”

“Well-” Sabrina’s father began.

“Do you want me to put daddy in the dollhouse?” Sabrina asked, a creepily playful grin on her face.

Sabrina’s mother considered it. “Well.” She said, “Maybe for a little while.”

“What?!” Sabrina’s father asked, looking horrified and sounding terrified.

“Ken. I was in that place for years. I don’t even blame Sabrina anymore.” Sabrina’s mother said severely, and nobody missed the implication of who she did blame for her imprisonment.

Ash hastily finished his piece of pizza and cleared his throat. “Well, we’re done here!”

Gary stood, an empty pizza box sliding onto the floor. “Oh, thank Mew!” He said. “This went from scary to awkward, let’s go have our Pokemon punch trees or something!”

* * *

“Just punching trees, or is punching Mankeys ok?” Ash asked Gary as they made camp for the night, a safe distance away from Saffron City.

“Anything is better than being around the crazy psychic family.” Gary said. “Is there a reason you specifically want to punch Mankeys?”

Misty sighed. “Primeape, Ash? Really?”

“Well, I was about to make donuts!” Brock said jokingly, holding up a bag of rice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a few things:  
You might have noticed that I changed the fic's summary - I figured that I could stand to be less defensive. I'm going to go through the chapters in the next few months, give them minor edits - nothing's gonna change, just a spring cleaning - I will spruce up the Pokemon battles I wrote before chapter 5, though, they kinda suck.
> 
> Giovanni does not want Delia finding out about the St. Anne fiasco - Ash could've gotten seriously injured, after-all. And Giovanni also doesn't want Delia to know that he's trying to slowly indoctrinate Ash into Team Rocket.  
The fact that Team Rocket has what I can only describe as a trade school is really funny to me. I assume only Team Rocket use it - and I actually came up with a reason for Team Rocket being so goofy that I'll reveal when the time comes. ;P
> 
> The Maiden's Peak Gastly - I like that episode, what can I say. He'll stay with Ash for a while. Hagrid's definitely going to appear twice more in Kanto, I haven't decided how often he'll show up in the other regions.
> 
> I managed to update before May 2021 XD, what a surprise! Chapter 8 will ideally be posted before July 4th of this year. It'll cover up to Koga and hopefully beyond, but we'll see how it goes. Update 3rd of July 2020: Well uh, the chapter's underway, I doubt it'll be finished and ready to post by tomorrow though, so probably around July 10th?


End file.
